


Until the Next

by seizethejongdae



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Death, Explicit Language, Fae & Fairies, Implied Decapitation, M/M, Violence, War, disturbing imagery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:07:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 76,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seizethejongdae/pseuds/seizethejongdae
Summary: In a perpetual war between the dark and light fairies, it had never been a question of whether or not dark fairy Jongdae and light fairy Sehun would meet, would fight, or would love. But rather, just this: who survives?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beautiful beta F and to the perpetually amazing M for everything always!
> 
> Originally posted in Round 1 of exorarepairing

“Who survives?” the man asked.

“None,” another man said before eagerly drinking the rest of his beer and slamming the tankard on the bar, “Both of them fall off the cliff after the rope breaks.”

“False. Any more guesses?” the man asked, “What about you, Jongin?”

Jongin, the bartender of the esteemed tavern…or at least esteemed as esteemed could be for such a dingy place…paused as he looked up from the glass he was wiping with a towel. While these two men were far from the worst people he had served before, Jongin had already split up a heated fight only hours earlier, so he had no desire to entertain anyone else tonight.

“Solve it yourself. I’m working,” he said, keeping his head down and his eyes focused on the glass he held. But the men simply stood up from their seats and edged closer to him.

“Come on now…You always play! What was it you always said?” the man said, leaning forward across the wooden counter of the bar until Jongin had no choice but to look at him.

“Free drinks—” the other man began to say in a sing-song voice.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…Free drinks on the house for those whose story everyone fails to guess right,” Jongin muttered. It was one time. One time that he had cheerfully agreed to the men’s proposals after being interested in their story. And then one time had turned into two times. And two into three. So now on Friday nights, the local drunkards would promptly amble to Jongin’s bustling tavern and play _Who Survives_ in the hopes of free drinks.

“So what do you say, Jongin? Do you have a guess,” one man said, his breath reeking of alcohol.

“Go home to your wife. You’ve drank enough,” Jongin scrunched up his nose distastefully.

“No, no, no! We’ve only just started!” the man protested, “What’s your guess?”

Jongin sighed and looked around. No one else seemed to be asking for drinks, and the tavern seemed to be running smoothly, strangers chattering comfortably under the dim light while waitresses and waiters walked in and out of the kitchen to bring them whatever sad grub the cook had thrown together. Jongin should really hire a better cook, honestly…But he supposed he could spare a moment to play.

“What’s your story?” Jongin sighed, giving in as he threw down his towel to give them all his attention.

“Alright, alright,” the man excitedly said before holding up a hand dramatically, “A lawyer and a farmer are in the middle of arguing about land disputes. The young farmer was in the middle of tying up his sheep to a tree so they wouldn’t fall off the cliff while they graze until the hotheaded lawyer becomes furious that the farmer wouldn’t listen. So they fight…and they fight…and they fight…”

“This is a long story,” Jongin amusedly said before the man messily pressed fingers to Jongin’s mouth to silence him.

“ _Anyways_ ,” the man said, “In their fight, the two of them tumble off the cliff. The farmer luckily holds onto the rope that’s already tied to the tree, and the lawyer luckily manages to grab onto the farmer’s ankle. So, the two of them are safe for the moment…until the rope starts _fraying_ ,” the man said, loudly whispering their plight for more dramatic effect. Jongin wrinkled his nose as the foul stench of the man’s breath wafted across the bar and wondered if he should start serving non-alcoholic beer. Jongin then wondered how many fights he’d face if they realized he served them non-alcoholic beer…

“So who survives?” the man then calmly said, leaning back after finishing his story.

“You said none, right?” Jongin said, pointing to the other man who nodded behind another tankard of beer.

“Then I’ll say the farmer,” Jongin said, “since he’s the one holding onto the rope.”

“Damn…You’re right,” the man said disappointedly, “I really wanted some free beer.”

“You drank _enough_ ,” Jongin laughed, pleased he won, “But why does the farmer survive?”

“You see, he kicks off the lawyer and leaves him to fall to his death so the rope frays slower, and before it has any more time to snap, he hoists himself up as fast as he can and makes it up to safety again,” the man said before tapping the wooden counter of the bar excitedly, “Let’s play again….I’m thirsty.”

And so Jongin gradually found his company growing from the two original men to more and more patrons of the tavern crowding around the bar dramatically telling stories before drunken men sloppily and loudly slurred out guesses of who survived.

“Has everyone had a turn to tell a story? Let’s all drink Jongin dry tonight,” the man loudly said before cheers erupted and the sound of tankards enthusiastically banging on the wooden counter echoed throughout the room.

“Oh! What about you, kind sir? Tell us a story!” the man said, pointing in some vague direction before the crowd parted to see who he was pointing at.

Jongin turned and gazed at a hooded stranger calmly sitting at the other side of the bar holding his barely touched tankard between his hands.

“If you tell us a story and none of us can guess who survives, then Jongin will give you free drinks for the rest of the night,” the man persuaded while the crowd rowdily chanted in the background.

_Free drinks! Free drinks! Free drinks!_

The hooded stranger made no move to suggest that he had heard or cared about the man and his proposal, so Jongin was ready to tell everyone to go home and disperse for the night until the stranger spoke…with a low, mesmerizing voice that entranced Jongin immediately.

“Two fairies…one light, and one dark,” the hooded stranger began to say before he was interrupted.

“Fairies? Fairies don’t exist…If you want to tell children’s bedtime stories, it’s too late, son, my daughter’s gone to bed,” some person laughed.

“Oh? But they do,” the hooded stranger said before taking a sip of his drink, the edge of his tankard disappearing into the shadows of his hood, “And they’ve been keeping the world alive and taking care of it for centuries. They’re responsible for the change of the seasons, the bountiful harvests every—”

“That’s fucking _ridiculous_ ,” a rosy-cheeked woman roared with laughter, “The reason why the crops are plentiful every year is because I drag myself out there in the countryside to work hard…not because of foolish, mythical creatures that don’t even exist.”

“If a forest can sprout out of nowhere near the border between the northern and southern territories, don’t you think anything is possible? Take this bar, too…Why is it named the Three Faes? Why are carved statues of wooden people with wings sprouting from their backs all around this bar? Fairies live in legends, stories, myths…but stories have to come from somewhere, right?” The stranger calmly said.

Jongin took one look at the dumbfounded and questioning looks the patrons of his bar were currently giving the man and intervened before any one of them could start some violent ruckus. Again.

“Alright. So there are two fairies. One light, one dark…What’s your story? Who survives?” Jongin asked curiously.

The shadows beneath the stranger’s hood shifted as he tilted his head slowly, and the man finally took a sip of his drink, letting it wet his lips before he spoke.

 

ϟ

 

No one knew how the fae came to be. Some said that light faes manifested out of radiant sunlight on cloudless days when the sun was at its hottest, and dark faes manifested out of dazzling moonlight on the eerie nights when the moon was full and the stars were bright. Others swore that light faes fell down from the heavens to look after the humans kindly while dark faes were thrown out of the fiery pits of hell to taunt them.

And then there were those who believed both light and dark faes were created together from the same shadows, as the light faes broke free of the shadows to escape into the light that created it and the dark faes oozed out of the shadows before retreating into the dark where no light could touch them.

But nonetheless, no matter however they came to be or where they came from, the fae balanced the earth and created harmony. Light faes pranced in the grassy fields during the daytime to chase away the insects that would wreak havoc on farmers’ crops, and when the moon finally rose into the sky, dark faes mischievously cracked twigs at midnight to scare wandering children enough to run safely home.

Neither would interfere with the other’s time, and neither would argue about the old ways…the ways things worked.

Or so they used to.

Humans were fickle creatures. One day they could wake up and suddenly forget a bargain they made the day before, and suddenly they would find themselves uncontrollably angry with their neighbor for holding possession of a goat they forgot they traded for a barrel of apples.

And suddenly they would exchange heated words.

And suddenly before anyone could blink, fists would swing.

Violence was contagious, and like an insidious plague, it crept from land to land until human kingdoms erupted into a destructive war no one knew how to stop or when it would possibly end…faes included.

So the light faes called an urgent summit before sunset to meet the dark faes. The golden hour before the sunset was a safe time for both, so it would not bother them to stay out a little longer after the sun dipped into the horizon just like it would not bother the dark faes to wake up a little earlier than usual to meet before the moon rose into the sky. After all, their humans were in danger, and it destroyed both groups of faes to hear about the orphaned children, the scorched lands, the countless dead that their scouts reported about after observing the humans.

The meeting began with pure intentions.

The queens of the light and dark both spoke about different methods of approaching the human situation. The light queen, brushing aside her long white hair, argued that the only way possible was to work covertly to end the war…to hide themselves while fighting alongside the side they deemed should win. The dark queen sat still, observing the light queen and her gently fluttering, translucent wings that looked like pure light. She did not like the idea of involving her people and risking mass casualties and losses, but something did have to be done after all. And when she finally spoke, spreading out her dark, feathered wings in a show of authority, she argued that if they were to fight alongside humans, why should they hide themselves? The humans should know who were risking themselves to save them as well.

And that was that.

A compromise was made.

The faes revealed themselves in all their glory, streaming from the heavens like fallen angels, and when they charged upon the humans with shimmering shields and swords forged from metals no human had ever seen before and looked down upon them with their radiant presences, the humans had gasped and fell to their knees, calling them kings…kings among humans.

Kings.

 _Rey_ some of them awe-struckingly called them in their own language.

But not even the fae could fix the damage that had been done. Enough blood was shed. No humans wanted a peace treaty.

And so the war had continued, this time with faes fighting side by side the humans with no end in sight.

But as time passed, the light and dark faes soon found themselves on opposing sides…fighting for peace, but finding that they had caused the opposite.

Soon, humans cursed at their tired bodies, their drooping wings…These humans heard what those unwanted creatures had called each other before.

Fae.

But to them, in some language they were just this.

 _Fey_.

Fated to die.

Because if they wished hard enough, the fae would die, right? Die right alongside the humans they had meddled with so they would be rid of them, right?

But just how even the most violent of storms faded from the sky and how time passed, so did the war.

But the fae were now, to the humans, considered stories…forgotten myths of the past as they quietly sent back their troops home.

But now humans called them the feyrey people.

Fairies.

These fairies, however, were still caught in a turmoil that the peace could not heal. Each side blamed the other for the wrong mistakes, the wrong battles, the wrong choices that lead them to exist without human trust or belief.

So while the humans regrew their withered, battle-torn lands, rebuilt their towns from rubble, and restarted their lives, the fairies continued their centuries long feud with the end nowhere in sight.

It seemed that this war would not cease until only one group of fairies survived.

So, which would it be?

Years and years and years into the war, Jongdae did not particularly want to know who would survive this war, but all he did want to know was when it would finally end.

He’d been raised, just like every other young dark fairy, for combat as replacements for fallen soldiers and for these moments…these moments when the tolling bells and piercing horns announcing the arrival of the opposition would jolt his sleepy, exhausted comrades from their sleep. They were used to sleeping in their heavy armor to cover them from any traces of light, so all they’d have to do was rise to grab their weapons and shields.

Dark fairies perished under direct sunlight, so light fairies often strategically struck when they were at their most vulnerable.

Like now.

“Rise! They’re coming!” a dark fairy scout called as she continually rung a copper bell to wake the sleeping soldiers up.

Jongdae stirred from his sleep tiredly, finding it difficult to pull himself upright after only an hour of rest. He should have been used to this by now…used to waking up at odd hours, used to waking up after only a few minutes or less after dozing off, used to waking up and realizing it might be the last time he woke up. But it was never easy, and Jongdae had never grown used to the stilted slumbers and fragmented dreams.

He blinked, allowing him seconds to fully wake as he stared at the soldiers rushing around the cave they had sought refuge in. The flames of the torches and fire pits flickered and danced as soldiers ran past them.

“Ready?” someone asked him before hands tugged him upwards and supported him until he could sit up straight on his own.

“Baekhyun, do we have a choice,” Jongdae chuckled as he looked at the dark fairy before him already dressed for battle with his shining chainmail made from tiny forged gems and his magnificent black, feathery wings hidden away and folded on his back under his hooded tunic.

“Come on…Minseok’s already smothered himself in glitter, and he’s waiting for us with the horses at the entrance of the cave,” Baekhyun said, pulling out a ceramic pot full of grounded powder, “You don’t want to burn to death, right? Let’s hurry.”

Jongdae nodded and held out an arm for Baekhyun to smear the glitter powder on his skin.

“Bless whichever dark fairy discovered ground up mica is the only thing that’d stop the sun from incinerating us,” Baekhyun said under his breath as he rubbed Jongdae’s arms and hands over and over again with the glitter just in case he missed even a tiny spot.

“But even if it wasn’t the sun rising each day to kill us, then the light fairies still would never let us live,” Jongdae said, reaching into the pot to take some of the cold glitter to smear on Baekhyun’s cheeks. The hooded tunics they wore under their armor and chainmail would usually shield their faces from the sun, but it was always good to be safe…extra cautious. Especially if they wanted to survive.

As they exited the cave their division of dark fairy soldiers had hidden in, Jongdae blinked as he walked into direct sunlight. The light reflected off the flecks of sparkling glitter on his exposed hand, causing his skin to shimmer beautifully. Baekhyun brought up his own hand to instinctively shield himself from the bright sun, but Jongdae instead stared as closely as he could to the edges of the sun without his eyes burning.

He had always been curious about the sun.

Dark fairies perished under the sun’s direct light, and they could not feel what the sun’s warmth felt like until it was too late.

So Jongdae was always curious.

What did it feel like?

What did the sun feel like?

“Humans say it’s hot,” Minseok had said one day the three of them had sat around the shade of the tree when they were children exhausted from hours of combat training.

“What does hot feel like?” Jongdae curiously asked.

“Well, when we all die we could ask the people who had died under the sun to tell us,” Baekhyun cheerfully said, “Or maybe by then we’d be able to feel what the sun feels like.”

“Isn’t there a way to find out? Without dying?” Jongdae shook his head, “Let’s just stay alive…the three of us…and figure out a way to feel the sun.”

They were kids then.

Ten years old and learning how to kill and not be killed.

But after they grew older, while Minseok and Baekhyun traded their curiosity of the sun for a fear…a distrust of it after watching too many of their friends and fellow dark fairies burn under its light after their glitter wore out after long battles, Jongdae was still curious…always curious…curious about how he could feel anything other than a normal neutral temperature. Perhaps he was always curious about the things he could not have.

“Jongdae, are you listening?” A voice cut through, causing Jongdae to snap his attention back.

“Your highness…Sunyoung,” Jongdae nodded as he caught sight of the young king of dark fairies himself, Kyungsoo, and his advisor Sunyoung mounted on horseback beside Minseok. There was nothing to distinguish Kyungsoo as king.

No crown, no fine robes, no golden rings.

He even wore the same tunic, the same chainmail, the same glitter rubbed over his cheeks and his skin, and even his own wings were securely and safely folded over his back and tucked under his tunic. Kyungsoo’s father, the previous king, used to wear his wings proudly to battle, brashly believing that if the light fairies really wanted to continue this senseless war, they would have to fight him in all his glory with his heart, his sword, and his wings out. However, as dark fairies died when their wings were cut off, that fearless move had cost the king his life, the dark fairies their king, and Kyungsoo his father when he was just fifteen.

“Pay attention, Jongdae,” Kyungsoo gruffly said, his posture perfectly straight. Never mind. There was his regal authority and poise that distinguished him from his subjects. “I’m sending you and Baekhyun to the frontlines with me today. Captain Kim’s advancing with his troops, and while they’ll be here within thirty minutes, it’s better to meet them before they come here anyway.”

“And me, Your Highness? Where should I go?” Minseok asked. Today, Minseok already pulled his hood over his face so Jongdae could not see his expression among the shadows, but he could still envision the way Minseok’s eyebrows were probably furrowed in serious focus.

Kyungsoo looked to Sunyoung to answer for him just like he had always done when they were younger and he wanted a break from answering questions during lessons.

“It’s highly likely that Captain Kim will have reinforcements to attack from the rear, so take some troops with you across the southern river to stop any possible counterattacks,” Sunyoung said. Jongdae remembered when they were children and she had liked to wear a little band of crystals in her hair. Today she wore a helmet instead. “Go now at once, and we’ll meet back here when everything is done.”

Minseok bowed in response and promised he’d make sure he would defend them from any possible attack.

There had been a time when Jongdae was just beginning to serve in the dark fairy army as a younger soldier when something deep inside of him wanted to scream _don’t_ go or _let me go with you_ in times like this…when he wanted to scream that they should stay together and protect each other.

But as soldiers, that was impossible.

Orders were orders.

If Jongdae was to take his troops one way and Minseok the other, then that was that. There was nothing they could do.

This was war.

No one said good-byes anymore.

“Until the next,” Minseok smiled, squeezing Jongdae’s and Baekhyun’s shoulders.

“Until the next,” Jongdae echoed the traditional dark fairy sentiment.

Until the next day, the next year, or the next life.

Might they meet again sometime.

  

ϟ

 

“Luckily it’s only Captain Kim we’re facing soon,” Kyungsoo shouted over the wind as they rode their horses out of the mountain caves and towards the field where Captain Kim and his army were said to be approaching. “So we have an equal chance. And so you won’t be useless for the major action of the battle, Jongdae.”

Wings were sacred to both dark and light fairies, so out of begrudging respect to one another, most battles were fought on the ground…just like human battles. Soldiers would fold their wings into their backs so they would not get torn off or purposely cut off during battle.

“Any word on General Choi then?” Jongdae said, ignoring the unpleasant reminder that his own unnaturally smaller wings were useless at flying.

“There have been reports he’s taken the time to raise a larger army before coming for us. Captain Kim has been sent to weaken us as much as he can before they arrive,” Sunyoung said, “General Choi’s army will seem to have at least thousands more than what we’ve seen last time.”

_Last time._

Jongdae had endured some hard battles throughout his military career, and while no battles at all were easy, facing General Choi was undoubtedly a living nightmare.

General Choi did not bother with any of the honor codes his captains or commanders under him followed. He was ruthless, initiating battles when they would least expect it, flying in undetected and forcing the dark fairies to free their large wings to fly up and meet them in combat.

Battles with General Choi generally ended with ripped wings, dead fairies falling out of the sky, and a battlefield stained with so much blood it could have easily created a new river.

So luckily enough today, they’d be fighting on the ground, and as soon as they entered the fringes of a large, vast field, Kyungsoo halted, held out a hand, and deemed that it was a good spot to wait for their opposition here. And then he spoke, magnifying his voice as he thundered out a morale-boosting speech even though his face betrayed no emotion.

To the newer, younger soldiers, perhaps it would have helped ease their nerves a bit, but Jongdae had heard such a speech thousands of times that it didn’t matter anymore…He already knew what he had to do and what was expected of him and everyone else.

It was always the same.

_Don’t die._

_Don’t let them gain any ground._

_Don’t die._

_Don’t let them kill your fellow soldiers._

_Don’t die._

With that, their troops yelled, clanging their swords on their shields and raising their weapons in the air, their battle cries echoing throughout the field.

And within moments, their battle cry was answered as the trees on the other side of the field shook from the thundering of horses’ hooves and swinging swords.

Captain Kim’s army had arrived and charged straight at them, so they would have no choice but to advance forwards. Today was not the day for advanced tactics and complex military strategies. Today, thanks to the shorthand notice that they were being ambushed, was the day to just ride out with swords raised and hearts pounding and hope that by the end as many people would survive as possible.

Jongdae turned to look at Baekhyun beside him, finding the emotional capacity in the moment to chuckle when he saw Baekhyun’s wide grin as he watched the enemy thunder towards them.

They all had their methods of enduring battles, getting through this all as unscathed as possible, and while Jongdae preferred to close himself off and focus on everything silently, Baekhyun preferred to fight loudly and dangerously.

“Not today!” he laughed as he rode out to meet the first soldier. Easily he twisted the sword out of the opposition’s grasp with a bit of skilled swordplay and stabbed his own through the chink of the light fairy’s armor.

And with the first blood taken and shed, the battle commenced as the two sides collided, the piercing sounds of swords colliding and fairies yelling filling the air.

Within moments, Jongdae engaged an oncoming light fairy that wore molded armor sealed and reinforced with hardened tree sap. As dark fairies were the only ones who had access to the mines and mountains now, light fairies only had the old swords that were passed down from generation to generation since the beginning of this war.

Like this sword that was currently being brandished at his face.

How pleasant.

It seemed that this light fairy was quite inexperienced in combat or that battle nerves had gotten the better of him, as his movements towards Jongdae were wild, uncalculated, and quite…random. Pity for him though, as Jongdae easily parried his opponent’s sword and disarmed him easily with a flick of his wrist before stabbing his enemy in the chink of his armor.

Without looking back to see if the light fairy was dead, Jongdae forged onwards, eerily calm as he slightly raised his wrist, moving his sword into a horizontal position above his head to prevent himself from being cut down right there. This next soldier was clearly more experienced than the previous one, as his skillful attacks were more carefully calculated.

But Jongdae was even better, even more skilled. He had to be after all if he was going to survive. And so after a bit of a longer duel between them, Jongdae managed to catch the light fairy unawares by feinting successfully several times before plunging his sword into the light fairy’s body.

Taking a moment to breathe, Jongdae listened as the loud echo of Baekhyun’s _Ha! You missed!_ resonated even above the din of the battle. Jongdae was glad that even if he could not directly fight next to Baekhyun he could at least hear his brash yells, a loud reminder that he was still alive.

But perhaps a moment to breathe was a moment too much, as Jongdae found himself tackled off of his horse. This light fairy that suddenly attacked Jongdae was far more ruthless, opting to reach a hand out to pull back Jongdae’s hood to expose him to the sun in this moment of confusion.

Jongdae was far quicker, though, and fell to his knees and dodged out of their grasp before he could allow that to happen. Jongdae was used to the intense sparring his opponent initiated, as dark fairy combat training was always rigorous, but this time they were both fighting to kill. But when the light fairy feinted a lunge and Jongdae moved his sword up to parry, he swept Jongdae’s feet from under him. With a yell, the light fairy stabbed his sword straight into Jongdae’s exposed neck.

Or so he tried.

Because Jongdae was not considered the most skilled soldier in the dark fairy army for nothing, as he instinctively threw himself to the left while the blade instead ripped open his top shoulder. Jongdae breathed, trying not to react to the pain and focus on his opponent instead, and with a flick of his feet he sent his opponent crashing down, too.

And unlike Jongdae, the light fairy soldier had not been able to dodge fast enough when Jongdae sank his sword into the light fairy’s neck, feeling nothing…but a cold relief that he was the one who survived instead.

Within an hour or so, the battle thinned out enough for Jongdae to be able to rest for a few moments before another light fairy attacked him. And another. And another. And another.

This wasn’t the longest battle Jongdae had fought in, but surely this would end soon, right? Surely they would win, right? Jongdae would be willing to fight for however long it took in order to survive, but soon after a few horns blew, the light fairies immediately began pulling back to Jongdae’s relief. A few of them paused to pick up fallen comrades to carry back before continuing to retreat.

With that, Jongdae breathed as he stabbed his sword into a clean patch of grass before sheathing it. Then he watched as his fellow soldiers tiredly made their way back, making sure the injured were cared for and the dead carried. When he could see mostly everyone heading back, Jongdae himself turned and helped support a fairy with an injured leg back with him.

At the entrance of their campsite, Minseok was already there next to Kyungsoo and in the process of counting how many soldiers had survived as they poured into the cave.

“Minseok!” Jongdae called out, relieved to see Minseok had survived.

Minseok looked up and grinned, raising a bandaged arm in greeting.

“I told you we’d stave off the counterattack,” Minseok smiled, “We even ended the battle early so we came back sooner than you.”

“It’s nice to see you care about me, your king, as deeply as you care about Minseok,” Kyungsoo snorted beside them.

“I already knew you’d be here anyway,” Jongdae reassured Kyungsoo, “When have you ever let a small battle stop you? It’d probably take more to kill you.”

“Don’t speak like that, Jongdae. You never know,” Kyungsoo said, but let a smile flit across his face for the moment before he let it pass, hardening his countenance as he continued thanking the soldiers who filed past them and headed into the caves to heal and rest.

“Your Highness,” Irene, their royal archivist called as she emerged from the cave with ink-smudged hands, “How many survived? What number should I record? Who lead the fight?”

“There are at least a hundred dead. We are still counting the survivors, so I will send Sunyoung to you with the final count. And the usual people lead the fight of course…Me, Sunyoung, and Baekhyun. But this time Minseok fought off the counterattack,” Kyungsoo said.

Jongdae said nothing, but pressed his lips together. After years and years and years of this, Jongdae should have been used to being omitted from the dark fairies’ archival records and history. But it was never easy to just feel _nothing_ when he was being forgotten even in the present.

“Is Baekhyun inside?” Jongdae asked instead, wondering where he had gone after some time had passed and countless faces that were not Baekhyun passed by them.

“I haven’t seen him yet,” Kyungsoo said.

“Don’t worry…I’m sure he’s probably just late,” Minseok said.

The three of them remained at the entrance of the cave counting the survivors, counting the dead, but Baekhyun still had not shown up yet again. Jongdae was used to heading into battle knowing that anyone he knew could die. He even expected it. But after the battles and sieges were over, of course it was never easy to look among a crowd of those who had survived and finding not those he wanted to find.

After a while, the remainder of the dark fairies they had under their command finished filing into the cave.

With no sign of Baekhyun.

“I’ll be heading inside to plan with Sunyoung. Take the time to rest…and…Just take all the time you need for now,” Kyungsoo said, patting Jongdae’s and Minseok’s shoulders before he headed back inside looking perfectly composed.

Jongdae slumped to the ground before the two of them waited in silence. Minutes…moments…hours passed by until the sun began plummeting down in the horizon.

“Where do you think he’s gone?” Jongdae asked, the two of them staring in the horizon praying for someone to come back, to just come _back_.

“He’s always reckless in battle…Hopefully he didn’t do anything risky today,” Minseok said instead.

“Yeah…remember that time he forgot to bring a sword to battle because he overslept,” Jongdae shook his head, “It was a miracle he survived that day.”

“Well…he is one of the most skilled, so if he couldn’t have made it through the battle, then I don’t know how anyone else would have been able to,” Minseok said, but soon the sun had almost completely fallen out of the sky when no one still arrived.

“Minseok, I really want him to come back,” Jongdae said, pulling his knees to his chest.

They had lost enough friends and family already.

One more person gone would be too much to bear.

“Don’t you wish you were born in a different time away from all of this?” Minseok sighed and said instead, unwilling to directly address the possibility that today might be another one of those days. They were calm. They were calm…they were calm and expecting the worst.

“Why do we have to pay for our ancestors’ mistakes when we didn’t even start this? Why do we have to die for what they’ve done?” Jongdae asked no one in particular.

“I guess because we’re fairies. We can’t let go of things as easily as humans can. We never forget…even though it’s still unclear how this war started. Incredible,” Minseok said, looking away from the long distance in front of them as he shed off his chainmail. It was almost dark enough to be safe.

“Then are humans forgettable,” Jongdae asked, keeping his eyes steady on the horizon. He would not look away yet.

“I don’t know,” Minseok admitted, “Fairies haven’t interacted with humans since forever.”

Since the war.

And with that, the conversation trailed off into silence and finally, Jongdae looked away from the horizon and took a moment to remember Baekhyun. He remembered how his bright laughter could make even the most dire of situations hopeful, how his genuine offer of friendship when they were children meant so much to Jongdae who grew up under the sneers of the rest of the dark fairies, how he really hoped…really hoped that somehow Baekhyun would come back. He had lost enough people already so Baekhyun _had_ to come back. It was only fair. Baekhyun would come back. He would be—

“Who died?” a voice asked them, “Why do you all look so fucking depressed?

With that, Jongdae and Minseok snapped their heads up to gaze at the newly arrived dark figure.

 _Baekhyun_.

And sure enough, there Baekhyun was among the shadows…his hood pushed back to welcome the arrival of the moon, his skin streaked with blood and glitter, and his foot limping along.

“Why were you _late_ ,” Minseok yelled before scrambling to his feet and rushing towards Baekhyun.

Jongdae breathed out a shaky combination of a half-sob and a laugh as he got to his feet feeling nothing but overwhelming relief and gratitude that Baekhyun was _alive_.

“Thanks for making us worry,” Jongdae shouted before the two of them launched themselves at Baekhyun.

“Wait…wait watch the leg! Watch the leg!” Baekhyun warned between his laughter. He was always laughing…no matter the situation.

Moments later the three of them sat outside of the cave to watch the moon fully shine their gentle light on them. Too bad moonlight didn’t feel any different. Nothing felt different. But with the threat of the sun and the battle long gone, the three of them took off their tunics in order to allow their long, black-feathered wings to stretch. Jongdae’s own wings were only as long as the tips of his hands when he held his arms out, but Baekhyun’s and Minseok’s wings, just like every other dark fairy’s, were even more expansively wide.

“Did you really think I died,” Baekhyun playfully said, though while his tone was light, for once, he did not smile. “I’m touched. But how come none of you cried for me? I think I’d deserve at least three days of straight crying. No… a week. A week’s worth of tears and mourning.”

“It’d only been a couple of hours…We would’ve thought you died if you didn’t show up by now. How did you even sprain your ankle? We were all on horseback,” Minseok scoffed.

Jongdae hummed in agreement, but was just grateful nothing worse had happened to any of them.

“Long story...But the most important thing is that you’re all going to give me your pillows so I can elevate my foot, right?” Baekhyun pleasantly said, finally grinning again as he looked expectantly at Jongdae and Minseok.

“You _wish_ ,” Minseok laughed, “That’s the only thing that’s been keeping the floor comfortable for us all this time.”

“What if we just slept out here one time,” Jongdae said after a dark fairy soldier interrupted them to give them their meals for the day…a bit of bread and stew. She served Minseok first, Baekhyun second, Jongdae last of course.

“Very funny, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said, “We’re going to die if we sleep out here when the sun comes out.”

“Unless he wants us to sleep in glitter, too,” Minseok shook his head before dipping his bread into the stew.

“We’re covered in enough of it all the time anyways. Might as well,” Baekhyun shrugged before tearing off a piece of his bread.

“So we can?” Jongdae said hopefully.

“No, it’s just better to not mess with the sun. Don’t get burned, Jongdae,” Minseok shook his head.

Don’t get burned.

Don’t die.

What a life this was…What a life this war had condemned every participant in living.

 

ϟ

 

“What’s our next move?” Baekhyun asked at a meeting held in Kyungsoo’s tent. A large map of the area was spread out on the table with little carved rocks and gems placed around to simulate the position of their troops and other light fairy troops. “General Choi?”

“No,” Kyungsoo shook his head as he stared at the map, “We don’t know where he is right now, but the last we heard from him, he was just moving his troops.” Gently, he scooped up the little flame from its place in the lamp above them with his hand and moved it into a candle closer to their maps so they could see better. Since dark fairies could not feel the sun, they couldn’t feel anything else that was like it, fire included.

“We’re advancing to destroy one of their main camps about a day’s journey from here,” Sunyoung said, tracing a finger from their position in the map to a place beyond the mountains.

“Do we have enough glitter for that?” Jongdae asked. Their supplies were running low, and it would not be wise to launch a siege when they could not handle more than a day or two of full protection under the sun.

“If the battle lasts for more than a couple days then no…The new supplies won’t reach us in time. But you can use less, right Jongdae?” Kyungsoo said.

“Hey…don’t be like that, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun said, looking up from the map to throw Kyungsoo a look.

“I’m just being _resourceful_ ,” Kyungsoo said, “If it comes to it, Jongdae is the only one that can afford to use less, right?”

“But we don’t know how _long_ it’ll—” Baekhyun protested. Growing up alongside Kyungsoo made him unafraid…unafraid of speaking out and questioning him.

“It’s okay, Baekhyun. Hopefully we’ll win the battle before that happens,” Jongdae said. “We can journey there during the night at least, right? So we can conserve as much as we can until then.”

But luckily they were ambushed before Jongdae had a chance to see what would happen when he used less glitter. The journey had already been tough, as everyone trudged through overgrown paths and steep hills, and maybe in some way they welcomed the battle because they finally had an excuse to throw down all their heavy supplies they exhaustedly carried in order to fight.

But honestly whether they were fighting on hills, on grassy plains, or anywhere else, it was always the same.

Maybe sometimes there would be more casualties than normal, more screams than normal, more time than normal.

But it was always the same.

Always frantic, always frightening, always final.

And at the end, no one was surprised anymore that there were casualties. No one mourned the dead unless they personally knew whoever passed, but Jongdae mourned those who wouldn’t be remembered after the battles.

“Does anyone know who this is?” Irene asked, pointing her quill at the dead fairy. She seemed quite unscathed and remarkably unbothered after the battle had ended for someone who didn’t fight and only saw the war through words and statistics.

“I’m not sure…” the dark fairy who helped carry the body in said.

“I’ve never seen him until today, so I don’t know,” someone else shook her head.

“Does anyone know his name?” Irene called out, looking around.

“That’s Yoseob,” Jongdae remembered, face falling as he peered upon the dead fairy.

“Yoseob? Okay,” Irene said, scribbling his name upon the list of the dead. But before Jongdae could tell her she had misspelled his name, she had taken off, immediately looking for the rest of the dead to record. And moments later, she reappeared by Kyungsoo’s side with too many names on her list.

“What is your official report, Your Highness? What should I record?” Irene asked Kyungsoo after bowing deeply.

“Another success lead by me, Baekhyun, Minseok, and Sunyoung. It was…” Kyungsoo began to say.

Jongdae turned away, walking off before Kyungsoo could finish his recount. His name would never be among the dead or the living it seemed. But soon, he found Baekhyun sitting in the shade, so with a sigh, he sat beside him and smiled. Moments later, Minseok joined them, gingerly sitting down to avoid aggravating his injury.

“All right there, Minseok?” Baekhyun asked.

“Perfectly fine,” Minseok nodded as he pressed a cloth to his leg to slow the copious bleeding.

“All right there, Jongdae?” Baekhyun asked.

“I’m so fit I feel as if I could run all the way from here to the light fairy king’s castle and steal away one of his sons,” Jongdae calmly said, “And you? All right there, Baekhyun?”

“Never better,” Baekhyun smiled before a medic that had been sent to tend to his wounds gasped at the sheer amount of blood he had been covered in. Whether it was his or not, Jongdae didn’t know…but from the way Baekhyun was at ease and refused to wince in pain after his wounds were being tended to, Jongdae wasn’t sure if he’d ever know.

Never better.

But it had seemed that Baekhyun’s wounds were indeed worse than he had let on, as Jongdae and Minseok had to carry him back even though he insisted that he was fine, he was absolutely _fine_.

Along the way, the three of them laughed at some jokes Baekhyun told, some exaggerated impression of Kyungsoo that Minseok acted out, and perhaps in another life or time it could’ve been like this always. All laughter, all love, all life.

“Put me out here…by the fire,” Baekhyun said, pointing to a fire pit at the entrance of the cave as soon as they made it back.

Jongdae and Minseok complied and gently set him down and sat around him. Baekhyun sobered up for a moment as he stared at the flames and sighed.

“Do you ever think we’ll ever get a break from the war?” Baekhyun asked, “Even one day’s worth of rest? Maybe even half a day?”

“If Kyungsoo doesn’t even give himself a break, then I’m sure we’ll be here until the war ends or until we’re gone,” Minseok responded.

“Let’s just go with the end of the war,” Jongdae said. Tonight they were all exhausted….all physically and emotionally exhausted from the battle they had just fought, and perhaps it was a miracle they had survived when so many did not.

“It doesn’t look like it’ll be stopping anytime soon,” Baekhyun shook his head.

“It’s a pity we’re the best soldiers in the army…Kyungsoo will never give us a moment’s rest and throw towards us more duties. But I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want this for anyone. How many did we lose today? I can’t remember,” Minseok glumly said.

The three of them fell silent for a moment, unwilling to answer Minseok’s question as they gazed at the crackling flames and ashy cinders in front of them. But after a while, Baekhyun clapped his hands together and smiled.

“Let’s play with the shadows today,” Baekhyun said, scooting himself closer to the fire. And without giving the others a chance to agree or not, he raised his hands over the light and looked around until he found where the shadows began creeping. “What’s this?”

“Wings?” Jongdae suggested as he looked over at the shadows Baekhyun had created.

“Moose?” Minseok offered.

“No, it’s a _bird_ ,” Baekhyun grinned.

“If you suggested this game, then the least you could do would be good at making shadows,” Minseok scoffed before getting to his feet. “My turn.”

The shadows were the closest dark fairies could come to the light…especially the sun’s light, so the shadows were as important to them as the darkness was. Before the war, they were accustomed to long festivals with fairies dancing behind lit screens to make their shadows leap and jump, shadow puppet shows for children to enjoy, and simple shadow games like the one they played now.

And tonight, Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Minseok played, laughed, and danced among the shadows and flames as if some of their friends didn’t just die today, as if they weren’t worried they might die tomorrow, and as if they weren’t afraid of dying one day at all.

  

ϟ

 

The looming threat of General Choi and his army seemed to fade as quickly as the reports of his appearance had come.

Of course, he had struck recently and wiped out two armies, but after that, while they expected him to come for them soon after, word of them disappeared.

Of course everyone was wary though, but what could they do…what could they do except focus on the current battles they were facing, the current threats they were fighting?

So naturally, they never expected General Choi until he came.

They were in the middle of a battle…fighting off Captain Lee’s troops.

On the first day of the battle, the dark fairies had tried to strike hard and fast to prevent themselves from losing and gaining an early lead in order to hopefully to stop the battle before it progressed. But the light fairies had struck since the early morning, so in the end, the dark fairies lost a good number of soldiers due to sun exposure.

On the second day of the battle, the dark fairies had engaged during the nighttime and optimistically thought that they could fully win since the sleepy light fairies were slow in response and unready for what was coming. This time, the dark fairies raised their torches and set fire to the field. Light fairies burned, and from the ashes and flames, the dark fairies hoped a victory was in their sights.

But as soon as the last flames were smothered and the first rays of the morning sun appeared, the dark fairies, running on the last remnants of their glitter, could feel their hearts drop out of their battered, weary chests, as there _they_ came…There General Choi and his army came as they flew in from the sky. Mercilessly, their archers took aim and unleashed a hailstorm of arrows that the weary, unshielded dark fairies could not stop.

Bravely, a few of the remaining dark fairies freed their wings and flew away from the arrows and flew to meet them in the air.

Which was exactly what General Choi wanted.

And pointing, he commanded out silent orders before a mass of light fairies rushed towards the flying dark fairies. The light fairies were untouchable in the sky, and the dark fairies succumbed to their attack and crude strategies. Too many fell out of the sky today.

Jongdae powerlessly watched from the ground…Not a single bow or arrow lay around his feet, so he could not do anything, could not fly up to meet their enemy, could not do anything except watch the multitudes of dark fairies falling out of the sky in mass numbers.

From far away it looked as if it was raining.

And when General Choi finally decided he had slain enough dark fairies, his scouts blew their horns and away the light fairies retreated.

Soon it stopped raining, and the surviving dark fairies gently and tiredly landed on the war torn ground. Jongdae stood, breathing in deeply for a moment…and another moment…and another moment…grateful that he could still breathe. And after, he calmly checked on his fellow soldiers around him.

“You’ll be treated soon,” he said after he checked on a dark fairy with multiple arrows sticking from his leg.

“You’ll be treated soon,” he comfortingly told a screaming dark fairy with a dagger hilt protruding from her stomach.

“You’ll be—” Jongdae began to say to a dark fairy who lay completely still and gazed at the sun with glassy, unafraid eyes.

“You’ll be fine.”

And soon, Jongdae, not even bothering to think that he had not yet seen Baekhyun, Minseok, Sunyoung, or Kyungsoo, began organizing the medical help and transport of whoever was left and wasn’t left. They would turn up soon…they would turn up soon. But in the meantime, he had to keep on going.

And as night fell, Jongdae allowed the surviving dark fairies to take off their tunics to place over the rows of the dead. There weren’t enough tunics to cover most of them.

And as Jongdae walked through the rows of the dead with a torch clasped in his hand to light the way, praying…hoping that he would not see anyone he knew here, something grabbed his arm.

“Jongdae,” someone hoarsely called out.

Jongdae stopped and looked down.

“You should not be dead. What are you doing laying among them?” Jongdae said, feeling a wave of relief wash over him as he saw Kyungsoo lying below.

“Sunyoung…” he whispered.

“Why is she here, too?” Jongdae said as he looked beside Kyungsoo to see Sunyoung, a wry smile across her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest to look deader.

“Sunyoung has a plan,” came another voice beside Kyungsoo.

“It’s the most relaxing plan yet,” another voice said.

“This isn’t funny,” Jongdae said, gazing at Kyungsoo, Sunyoung, Minseok, and Baekhyun laying among the fallen…motionless…still…as if they, too, were dead.

“You should try it, Jongdae. Pretend to be dead. That’s the plan isn’t it? Sunyoung’s plan? A lot of people around us aren’t actually dead you know. She’s planned this,” Baekhyun said.

“We don’t have _time_ to play dead,” Jongdae said, his desperation giving way to relief, which gave way to anger. He gazed over the rows of the dead, and sure enough, among the bodies, chests softly rose up and down. But some still remained still. “There are actual dead fairies around us…and other fairies who will be dead without our help. Stop this.”

“Let the others take care of it…And listen to what we have to say,” Kyungsoo commanded, his eyes still closed.

“We’re sure that General Choi will send scouts and spies to check how much damage he’s done to us. And our only hope is to pretend that we have more dead than we actually have,” Sunyoung said, her eyes still closed.

“Yeah, so Jongdae come lie down between Minseok and me. There’s space. Let’s be dead,” Baekhyun said, patting the grass next to him.

“No, Jongdae will be the one to lead,” Kyungsoo said, “He will act as if we are dead, as if more dark fairies are dead, and meet General Choi in an aerial assault. General Choi will think it will be an easy fight since he’ll have thought that he destroyed more than half of our troops. But after he surrounds whoever is left and Jongdae, we will surprise him with a counterattack with the majority of our troops. And then we will win.”

“Wait. I’m not even—” Jongdae began to say as he forced a hysterical sense of panic down. Him? Leading the whole army? Up in the _air_ of all places?

“Wait…are you sure that’s a good idea? Kyungsoo, he can’t…he can’t fly,” Baekhyun protested as Jongdae was hit with yet another reminder that he was forgettable…expendable in a way that the others were not.

“This plan will surely kill him. You’ll send him out to die,” Minseok protested.

“It’s the only choice we have. And Jongdae is more than enough capable to lead and fight,” Kyungsoo said. When he lay on the field with his eyes closed relaxing like this, he looked almost like his young age again. Younger and carefree. As if the war had never happened. As if his father was still here. As if he wasn’t king of the dark fairies and responsible for hundreds and thousands of lives.

But that was a lie.

Jongdae could easily switch places with either Minseok or Baekhyun and safely hide among the dead as someone else lead the risky attack.

But if this were what Kyungsoo wanted, then he would have no choice but to obey.

“Enough dark fairies have died in the war, died for this pointless war, Jongdae. And even more have died under General Choi’s sword,” Sunyoung said, “This is our chance of defeating him at last.”

“But you’re going to let one more go?” Jongdae asked, though feeling the slight twinge of selfishness as he thought of the other dark fairies that would die when he lead this senseless attack on General Choi.

_You’re going to let me go?_

“One death to spare the lives of many is a small price to pay,” Kyungsoo unapologetically said, sounding as if he had already come to terms with the fact that Jongdae would die. And as Kyungsoo was king, Jongdae knew these were the hard decisions he would always make. But from the firmly nonchalant way Kyungsoo proposed it, Jongdae wasn’t sure if he thought it was hard at all.

“Wait. Can’t I take his place? Or at least go with him? This isn’t right,” Baekhyun asked, moving to sit upright before Kyungsoo moved his arm to hold him down.

“Jongdae will do this,” Kyungsoo said, “And that is final.”

Baekhyun reluctantly relaxed and laid back down again.

“So where will you all be hiding while I do all the work?” Jongdae sighed, plopping down on the shredded grass, the battle-tainted ground as he stared at his friends. After no one spoke, they truly did look dead while the wind caressed and tousled their hair and the light from the torches caused their skin to glow and sparkle.

It was an eerie sight, and Jongdae suddenly found it hard to breathe as he thought of the possibility that one day he’d be staring at them like that except they wouldn’t pretend any more. Or maybe he’d be lying like that one day himself. And so he tore his eyes away from them and stared at the shadows the lights cast around him.

He supposed…as long as they were safe, he’d do his best to defeat as many light fairies before they would step in and counterattack.

But something fierce, frightened clawed at Jongdae’s heart, and he felt even more vulnerable than he had ever felt before.

Because…what about him?

What about him?

He wanted to survive, too.

 

ϟ

 

If Jongdae were to lead the army in Kyungsoo’s place, then he would do it his own way.

“We’ll meet them in the air first,” Jongdae said, “We’ll hide in the trees and leap upon them when they least expect it.”

“You want the whole army to climb trees. Why can’t they just fly?” Kyungsoo said. Today, they were alive and in the cave discussing the plan once more before Jongdae was to leave. “This is a last minute change to the plans, Jongdae.”

“What type of a soldier can’t even climb a tree? We’ve trained them better than this,” Jongdae said, “And General Choi will see us from the distance if we fly.”

It wasn’t a last minute change if the essence of the plan was still present.

It wasn’t a last minute change if Jongdae and his dark fairies were still the ones Kyungsoo intended to sacrifice to defeat General Choi.

“We don’t have enough time to climb trees,” Kyungsoo said.

“It only took me fifteen minutes before,” Jongdae said, daring Kyungsoo to say something about _that_. “And we _will_.”

“Fine,” Kyungsoo accepted, “Whatever you do, we’ll come after you in exactly an hour. No more, no less.”

Jongdae nodded and grabbed his sword before securing it to his belt. Baekhyun rushed forward to dab a little extra glitter on his cheeks just in case Jongdae missed a spot.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m dead already?” Jongdae shook his head, “Aren’t you supposed to be the dead ones?”

Baekhyun averted his eyes before pulling Jongdae into a hug that Minseok joined. Jongdae hugged them back, but he did not break the eye contact with Kyungsoo who merely inclined his head in response.

“Will the war really end if General Choi is defeated?” he looked back, his face already concealed in the shadows of his hood.

“Go. We’ll be right behind you,” Kyungsoo pushed him towards the exit instead. “Until the next, Jongdae.”

Jongdae nodded, but he did not say anything back.

He would see them again after all.

He _would_ survive this.

And so he lead those few, those unlucky few dark fairies left who were to be sacrificed onwards as they journeyed to the forest near General Choi’s campsite. He didn’t really have anything to say to them, as he hadn’t prepared any speeches of grandeur and honor like Kyungsoo was used to giving them.

So he just led a chant.

“What are we going to do?” he yelled as they all marched towards the forest.

“Don’t die!” they yelled back.

“That’s fucking _right_ ,” he yelled back, “They sent us out here to die, so what’ll we do? Stay alive. Win. So they’ll think twice before burning our funeral pyres.”

_Don’t die,_

_Don’t die,_

_Don’t die._

Jongdae fell silent, letting the soldiers chant for a while longer to boost their morale before telling them to be quiet since this was supposed to be a covert operation after all.

And as the night fell, Jongdae lifted the hood of his tunic back as he ordered everyone to pick a tree and start climbing. He climbed on the tallest one in about fifteen minutes and waited for the rest to catch up as he tried to make himself comfortable sitting on a branch.

From his position in the trees, Jongdae could see General Choi’s camps below them in the field. Smoke was rising out of the campsite while cheering and boisterous noise echoed out of the bigger tents. It must’ve been dinnertime. Jongdae waited and waited and waited until the smoke disappeared, the light fairy soldiers headed back into their private tents, and the moon began falling from the sky, forcefully pushed out by the sun. The light fairies would not expect to be so boldly attacked during the daytime like this.

And when it was finally time, Jongdae signaled for the fairies to fly towards them. In the horizon, they looked like a flock of hellish birds fleeing the trees to cause havoc…or even dark, looming clouds on the verge of consuming everything. The morning sun reflected off of their glittering chainmail and their glowing skin, and they could have looked like heaven’s own angels were it not for their dark feathered wings that flapped ominously from the distance.

The previous times Jongdae had encountered light fairy armies in the air, he usually climbed trees very much like this one and picked down light fairies with a bow and arrow. But today, as the brave soldiers under his command flew onwards, no war cries, no horns, but just anxious breathing, Jongdae watched as they began attacking to draw the light fairies in the air, watched as General Choi joined the fight immediately, and then jumped from the tree, relishing in the way it almost felt like flying before he fell on a light fairy he held onto as they struggled in the air. He depended on the light fairy to keep them in the air, so he timed his attacks, holding onto their necks while they struggled before stabbing them and releasing himself into the air once again.

Free, Jongdae threw out his arms and did not fly exactly, but glided through the air before he landed upon another light fairy below him. Quickly, he slit the light fairy’s throat, ignoring the splatter of blood that sprayed on his hand before he fell again.

He couldn’t fly, but he could fall…fall upon the enemy and drop out of the sky to fight them when they least expected it. Perhaps he should have been afraid of the heights since he could not fly with his smaller wings that could not support all of his weight. But he was more afraid of not surviving at the moment, as the light fairies quickly realized they easily outnumbered the dark fairies. And so they began attacking…two on one…three on one…

Some began holding the dark fairies’ wings while others sliced them off before letting the wings and the dead fairy fall from the sky.

So Jongdae shut down.

He didn’t yell like Baekhyun would yell, didn’t snarl in frustration like Minseok did when things didn’t go their way.

He just.

He shut down.

He. Shut.

Down.

That was the only thing he could do when he saw friends…comrades falling right before his eyes, and silently, he begged Kyungsoo and the others to come soon, to come _now_.

Jongdae almost forgot he had to fight, to survive on his own as he swooped in to save a screaming dark fairy who had five light fairies grabbing his body, holding him in place. But Jongdae was too late to completely save him, as one of the dark fairy’s wings had already been severed off. It was too cruel, this was too cruel…They killed each other yes, but this was too crude and unbelievingly horrifying to watch. This was too much.

And just as he was about to rip a light fairy off and engage them, he felt his own self torn off of the light fairy he was fighting and found his wings being grabbed by two other unknown light fairies.

 _No_.

Not his wings…

Not his only connection to—

“Why do you think his are smaller?” one light fairy said, roughly running his fingers intrusively through Jongdae’s feathers.

“Does it matter? Either way he’ll die when we cut them off, so hurry up,” another one said as Jongdae twisted in their grasp.

_No._

_Not his wings._

Fighting back or resisting wouldn’t do him any good in this moment. Sure, it might spare him an extra moment or two before he was stabbed or had his wings cut off, but he needed to try something else…

So he let himself fall.

Jongdae let himself go limp, relaxing as he dropped through the air.

The light fairies who had tried fighting him fell with him, and struggling, they could not lift him up and fly at the same time.

And so they dropped him.

Unlike those other times he had been able to land on unsuspecting light fairies to not only attack and also save himself from falling, eventually he had nowhere else to fall. There were no more light fairies below him, and Jongdae did not have enough speed to glide upwards, and so he just fell, hoping for the best.

But then before he could fall very far, he felt arms grab his own…arms gentler than the arms of the light fairies had grabbed him…and suddenly he was flying as if his wings functioned properly, as if the sun was the only thing stopping him from living, as if fairies weren’t dying all around him.

“This is Sunyoung’s worst idea…and Kyungsoo making you fight like this was the worst decision ever,” Baekhyun calmly told him as they flew.

“You have to admit, though….that it’s working strangely in our favor,” Minseok said from Jongdae’s other side as light fairies around them succumbed to the oncoming dark fairies.

“It took you long enough to get here,” Jongdae grumbled, but felt relieved as he sailed through the air safely instead of just falling. If Jongdae closed his eyes and refused to listen to everything around them, perhaps this could have felt like actual flying.

But it was impossible to drown out the dissonant screams and the swords clashing, so Jongdae kept his eyes open and his senses alert.

“Drop me on that one,” Jongdae said, pointing to a light fairy who was overpowering a dark fairy.

“Are you sure?”

“I mean…this is nice, but you can’t go through the battle babysitting me. What are we supposed to do without our second best and third best fighters?” Jongdae teased.

“Bye Jongdae,” Minseok chuckled as he let go of Jongdae’s arm.

“Go easy on him, Mr. First Best,” Baekhyun laughed as he, too, let go.

Jongdae fell, fought, threw himself at the next light fairies, and countless fights soon ended like this…with him triumphantly causing light fairies to fall, but at last, once again, he had nowhere else to fall.

And so he let himself plummet towards the ground, watching as the grassy fields rushed up to him in a blur of green while his mind was hazy with adrenaline. Vaguely he thought he could feel a scream tearing out of his throat.

But Jongdae spread out his wings at the last moment and glided safely to the ground. They were good for that much at least. He tried to look at the battle above him, but the sun was burning too bright today. So today, he raised a hand out to cover that sun…that brilliant sun so he could see what was happening. He could not rejoin the battle easily, as the forest where he could climb up the trees was about ten minutes away if he ran, and dark fairies soon began falling out of the sky in large numbers anyways, signifying the end. The end of the battle.

But this time, they landed safely and nimbly instead of brokenly tumbling down without their wings. And this time, there were mostly dark fairies instead of light ones. Dark fairies immediately began trudging back, resting their tired wings as they walked. Familiar figures began to approach Jongdae in the distance, and Jongdae breathed.

“We won,” Minseok yelled as he punched his fist in the air.

“And General Choi?” Jongdae asked in return, though he could not help but bounce on his toes a little bit before letting out a triumphant yell. They had won.

“That’s him,” Baekhyun said, jerking his head in the direction of a bound light fairy lead by guards that trailed after Kyungsoo. His head was raised upwards and he glared at any dark fairy that dared to look upon him even though he was defeated.

“That’s General Choi.”

 

ϟ

 

It was funny…to see the fairy who had opposed them for so long, the feared fairy who had lead their enemies to slaughter their own for so long, the fairy they had been trying so hard to take down for so long.

Here.

Kneeled down in front of them.

Lost.

“General Choi,” Kyungsoo said as two dark fairy guards pushed the fairy in question closer to him. They had finally made it back to their caves after a weary journey back, and the fire-lit shadows bent and danced around the fabric of Kyungsoo’s private tent. General Choi took a moment to neatly brush aside his disheveled hair from his face as best as he could with his two bound hands in front of them and then looked up.

“Your majesty,” General Choi wryly smiled, “So it seems you’ve finally destroyed my troops. Are you happy with that?”

“The only thing I’m happy about is that your people won’t be killing mine any longer,” Kyungsoo shook his head, “But what shall we do with you now?”

The smile slid off of General Choi’s face as the reality of his situation sank in. He had survived one battle while the rest of his soldiers perished, but anything could happen now.

“Sunyoung, what do you think?” Kyungsoo asked.

Sunyoung emerged from the shadows, adjusting her gauntlets slowly as she observed General Choi, noticing his rapidly darting eyes, clenched jaw, and fast-paced breathing even if he attempted to appear composed…and smiled before speaking.

“Let’s consider what he’s done, shall we?” she began to say, “Here…here before us is the fairy who was responsible for the deaths of so many of our friends, our family, our fellow comrades.”

“I was doing my _job_ …protecting my people,” General Choi loudly protested, “If I had won and had you at my knees, would you not say the same thing?”

“But you are the one on your knees today, so what’s going to stop us from killing you to avenge our loved, lifeless ones?” Sunyoung said, pausing to let General Choi register the weight of her words. To his credit, General Choi grasped his hands tightly together but remained undeterred and silent.

“Here’s my answer, Kyungsoo. What can General Choi do for us? What can he offer us in return for his life?” Sunyoung said.

“Thank you, Sunyoung…and I agree. I don’t feel like sending another fairy off to die today, so what do you have to offer us in exchange for your life, General Choi?” Kyungsoo said, tapping a finger on his chair patiently.

General Choi fell silent, debated his options, and sighed before speaking.

“I have information that would save all your people, but I will only give it to you if you do something for me,” he said.

“We’re sparing your life. That is enough,” Kyungsoo said, but leaned forward in interest. This chair was not the same as his own magnificent stone throne he had at his own castle back home, but it would have to do in times like this.

“No, no…by telling you this, my place and life with the light fairies are forfeit. This is information that could save all of your people from extermination,” General Choi said.

Extermination?

Gasps filled the room as the most important members of the dark fairies murmured, and an unsettled feeling flowed through the room. Jongdae exchanged grave looks with Minseok and Baekhyun before placing a hand over the hilt of his sword. Just in case. Of course, there wasn’t any imminent or immediate danger now, but…

Just in case.

“Why would you tell us this? We could easily use this information to kill your own people, too,” Kyungsoo said, raising a hand in the air to silence the rest of his people.

“Like you, I think enough have died for this senseless war. My nephew Minho…today was his last day thanks to you. And I had no desire to willingly follow through with the plans I was given anyways. They were too… _cruel_ ,” General Choi coldly said. Jongdae didn’t know whether or not to feel sorry or to laugh since the many war crimes General Choi committed during his time in the light fairy army could be considered beyond cruel.

“Fine. What do you want in return as well as your life?” Kyungsoo asked.

“My daughter,” General Choi nodded, “The last I have.”

“Your daughter? How are we supposed to find her?” Kyungsoo said, “We cannot exactly march into your territory and willingly make her come with us.”

“Her name is Sooyoung,” General Choi continued as if he had not heard Kyungsoo, “Her smile is so beautiful…more beautiful than any spring day…and she has the softest brown hair she wears chin-length that she likes to decorate with butterflies and flowers…She reminds me so much of my late wife…”

“Then tell us what you know, and we will bring you your daughter. Sooyoung,” Sunyoung said.

General Choi hardened, shaking himself out of the fond daze the memory of his daughter brought him, and spoke.

“You don’t have to worry about me after this. After you bring me my daughter, we’ll go into exile. Maybe head for human lands…But do I have your word? How can I trust you, a dark fairy, to just kill me after this?” he asked, his vulnerability exposed as he kneeled with his hands squirming in front of him.

“You have my word…not as a dark fairy, but as one fairy to another,” Kyungsoo said.

Satisfied with his answer, General Choi nodded before beginning to speak.

“I received a letter…a letter from the king saying that they were in the process of testing out a weapon of mass destruction that was capable of destroying all of your people effortlessly,” he said before gasps ran through the room. A weapon like that would definitely end the war, but at the cost of all the dark fairies’ lives.

Kyungsoo raised a hand to silence the harsh whispers across the room.

The war would not end with the capture and dismantling of General Choi’s troops. Jongdae knew that now. There would always be more cruel generals, more kings, more armies, more battles to fight off with no end in sight. It was foolish to think beating one fairy and his army would finally end the war for good.

“How do we know that this is the truth and not a plan to sabotage us completely? Why should we believe you now?” he asked.

“You have my word…not as a light fairy, but as one fairy to another,” General Choi said.

“Fair enough,” Kyungsoo nodded before turning to Jongdae, “Assemble a team—”

“No. Only one person can go. And if you think you can all sneak into the royal castle with wings like _those_ and clothes like _those_ , well,” General Choi shrugged, “So who will it be?”

“Jongdae. You’re going,” Kyungsoo commanded without any hesitation.

Jongdae said nothing, though merely inclined his head. He expected this after all.

Light fairies…Infiltrating the light fairies, sabotaging their plan, and running off with the daughter of the most infamous light fairy general.

This had to be the hardest task given to him by far.

“He’s it then? Your best?” General Choi, said, snapping his gaze to Jongdae and observing him carefully.

“Our best,” Kyungsoo echoed. Jongdae didn’t say anything, but he avoided the gazes of Baekhyun and Minseok who were concerned not because they had not been named as the best, but because they realized that Kyungsoo had once again sent Jongdae off to die while they stayed behind safe.

“Well then…Come here. Let’s talk,” he said, jerking his head as Kyungsoo quietly moved to send most of the other dark fairies out of the room.

Jongdae silently walked towards General Choi and kneeled in front of him.

“So…Jongdae…Captain? Commander? Or…” General Choi began to say. Jongdae was almost surprised by the respectful way he was trying to address him.

“I don’t have a title,” Jongdae admitted, “Just Jongdae is fine.”

“Interesting,” General Choi said, his eyes flicking to Jongdae’s smaller wings and then back at his face. Jongdae ignored the stares he could feel around the room.

“Are you going to tell me how to stop your people or…” Jongdae said. General Choi looked at him silently for a moment longer before speaking.

“Remember these names. Sooyoung. Yixing,” he said, gazing intensely into Jongdae’s eyes, “They will be the light fairies you need to follow….who will lead you to whatever weapon they’ve planned.”

“Sooyoung’s not involved, is she?” Jongdae asked, maintaining his gaze.

“No, but you still have to get her out. So remember her name,” General Choi said with a wry smile.

“And the other…Yixing. How is his involved?” Jongdae asked.

“He’s definitely not one of the two princes, I can tell you th—” General Choi said.

“Princes,” Jongdae mused.

“Yeah, don’t waste your time with them…They don’t know anything. But Yixing…He’s the minister of war who sends off all the commands and ultimately makes the final decisions in what we do. Nothing happens without his approval or notice, so he surely must have had a part in developing this weapon. So if you follow Yixing, I’m sure he’ll lead you to their plans,” General nodded.

“Okay. Sooyoung. Yixing… _Okay_ ,” Jongdae nodded, “Got it.”

“Good. Now come over here and cut off my wings,” General Choi nodded as he turned around to reveal his fluttering green wings to Jongdae.

“What? No…I can’t,” Jongdae widened his eyes.

“What are you planning, General? You’ll die if we take your wings,” Kyungsoo intervened.

“Oh…I forgot light fairies are superior to dark fairies. You see…we don’t die like you if you cut off our wings,” General Choi said.

“Do explain yourself,” Kyungsoo said. How could this be? If dark fairies perished when their wings were ripped off, how was it fair that light fairies could survive without their wings?

“If you cut off a light fairy’s wings without their permission, the wings will shrivel up. But with their permission, the wings will look the same and function normally….just without the body that they were previous attached to. Usually desperate mothers and fathers will have their wings cut off so they can use the magical properties to nurse their dying or sick children back to full health,” General Choi said before growing somber, “But if a fairy cuts them off themselves, they become human. It’s taken as a sign that they have given up their magic, their power, their life as a fairy.”

Silence filled the room as the ensemble of dark fairies shifted uncomfortably. If dark fairies were to have their wings cut off, they’d die immediately. So the thought of having their wings cut off was dangerous…unspoken of….and immoral.

“So…Jongdae, is it? Cut off my wings,” General Choi said, inching closer to Jongdae.

It felt wrong…profane to do this, but here Jongdae found himself kneeling in front of the fairy as he pulled out his engraved silver dagger with a ruby hilt…a present from his mother, a feared warrior and general in her own time, and lightly grabbed onto one of the lightly fluttering, translucent green wings in front of him.

“Don’t worry, kid. It won’t hurt,” he chuckled, “And how else are you supposed to sneak into the light fairy castle? So go on then.”

This dagger had been stabbed into multiple people, seen the most gruesome of battles, saved his life countless times…but Jongdae felt just _wrong_ as he neatly sliced down the wing. And before he could change his mind or stop to hesitate, cut off the other wing as well.

The severed wings fluttered as they lay at Jongdae’s feet.

“Aren’t they pretty? Prettier than your black, feathery bird’s wings at least,” General Choi said, admiring his own wings before bending down to whisper unheard commands into them. Jongdae watched breathlessly as the wings flew to attach themselves to the back of his clothes. For a moment Jongdae turned back and gazed at his own shadow with two sets of wings protruding awkwardly. But even with two sets of wings, he still did not count. So quietly, he adjusted his clothes to fold his black wings under them so General Choi’s green wings fluttered alone.

“Will they fly normally?” Jongdae managed to ask.

“Hm. Maybe…But it’ll feel as if you’re being carried by them. Not natural at all. You can’t even control how they flutter,” General Choi said.

“It’ll do,” Kyungsoo said before General Choi suddenly collapsed to the ground, contorting and writhing in pain.

No one moved to help, but Jongdae quickly hovered over him with his hands reached out, though he was uncertain of what to do. But luckily after a brief moment, General Choi became motionless once again and breathed heavily on the floor.

“It doesn’t hurt to cut off wings at the moment, but it hurts after…when the magic leaves your body,” General Choi hoarsely said as Jongdae yelled at someone to fetch some water. No one moved.

“Then you are lucky. It always hurts to cut off our wings, as you may know since your armies have cut off countless dark fairy wings,” Kyungsoo said, unfazed and unmoved by the sight.

He sent away General Choi after that, snapping his fingers as two guards picked up his weak body and dragged him off to who even knew where before he turned, dismissed Baekhyun and Minseok, and discussed the plan with Jongdae and Sunyoung in even more detail.

It was simple.

In theory.

Jongdae was to take the wings, pretend to be a light fairy while keeping his own feathery wings folded and under his clothes at all times, and infiltrate the light fairies’ castle in order to take Sooyoung back.

And hopefully save them all from extermination.

But if he failed?

“You do know that if you’re caught, we cannot offer you any support or help. You’ll be on your own,” Kyungsoo firmly told Jongdae, looking calmly at him as he spoke. Kyungsoo’s father often said that remorse was unbecoming of a king. If he gave an order, he could not take it back or regret it. So Kyungsoo never regretted anything and he most of all did not regret this decision, too. He had made similar ones before after all. But Sunyoung who stood beside him, who had listened to him give these commands, who had sometimes advised him on some of these commands, opened her mouth as if to say something, but continued her silence and looked away from Jongdae.

“You won’t help?” Jongdae dared to say back, “You sent me because…because I’m not—”

“This will be your chance to be remembered, Jongdae,” Kyungsoo nodded, “Come back, and we will finally be able to write you into our history books…Jongdae who saved the dark fairies from mass extermination.”

“As Jongdae the dark fairy…or—” Jongdae said before Kyungsoo walked away, Sunyoung trailing after him.

That was another thing Jongdae didn’t like.

Even if he did survive this war or he did not survive this war, what was the point if he wasn’t going to be remembered the right way anyways?

 

ϟ

 

Now if Jongdae knew just how even more fucked up things were going to get following the weeks and months he left the frontlines of the battlefield behind, then maybe he wouldn’t have bothered to go after all.

Maybe he would’ve stood with the rest of the dark fairies and faced whatever supposed massive weapon of destruction the light fairies had and it would’ve been alright.

Because what was coming was far worse than anything he could have ever imagined.

And also far better.

But for now, before he left, Jongdae hugged Minseok and Baekhyun good-bye, sorry that they would have to take charge and split between themselves even more war duties in his absence, sorry that he could only offer them his extra pillow to share as a parting gift, and especially sorry that he didn’t know if this would be the last time he would see them.

“Until the next,” he nodded before swinging onto his horse and pulling his hood over his head until his face was concealed by the shadows. Perhaps it would be best now so Minseok and Baekhyun wouldn’t have to see the anxiety and worry etched into his expression no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

“Until the next,” they smiled.

Jongdae tried to memorize their smiles and the way the light of the cave torches reflected off of their glitter-stained skin one last time before turning around and racing out of the cave and into the night.

He traveled mostly during the night and slept during the day so the sun could not even seize the chance to kill him. But traveling like this…with General Choi’s wings out while his real wings were hidden was tiring. His real wings often ached to be stretched out from under his clothes, but he supposed he should become used to the sensation since he wasn’t sure how long this mission would take. Though eventually, Jongdae became tired of waiting for night to travel, and even if it was dangerous, he traveled a few extra moments before the sun would set and a few extra moments after it rose before stopping.

He just wanted to save time…and also see the sun for himself, too.

Dark fairies didn’t feel the sun or what its heat felt like until it was too late…until they were dead from its exposure, but as Jongdae was the only one of them who could withstand a little exposure without dying immediately, he took the risk.

What did the sun feel like?

He still wanted to know.

And so he chased the sun for the fleeting moments before it dipped into the horizon, running towards something he could not have, could not touch, could not reach until it was nighttime and he could remove his hood from his face and welcome the moon’s soft rays on his skin.

The journey there took a week…a week from the frontlines to the king of the light fairies’ castle. It was a week Jongdae felt he could finally breathe again without seeing jagged images of blood and hearing dissonant screams and clashing metal around him. Perhaps this would be a nice break…a nice break from the battles and the bodies and the killing. And the dying.

And when he finally reached the castle in the hours before evening fell, Jongdae could not help but just stop his horse in order to stare. The castle was pure white, and when the sun reflected off of its walls, it looked as if it was made out of dazzling light.

Jongdae kept his eyes on the castle as he remembered to urge his horse onwards to the gleaming, golden gates, but eventually it became too bright, so he held out a hand in front of him to shield himself from the reflected light.

Is this what heat felt like?

So overwhelming that he had to look away, to take his hand away, to move away in order to survive?

“Who are you?” someone asked when Jongdae finally reached the gates guarding the entry to the castle. The sun finally disappeared from the horizon, so the reflected light dimmed and dulled.

“General Choi’s personal attendant,” Jongdae said as he pulled off his hood to reveal that he meant no immediate harm, feeling strangely safe even without his glitter to shield him. This was the easiest cover for him after all, as the king probably had lists of captains and commanders he could not hope to impersonate.

The guards looked at each other at the mention of General Choi before looking back at Jongdae and his borrowed wings. They had no reason to suspect him because he appeared like a light fairy, so they relaxed and lowered their weapons.

“What business do you have here?” one of them asked.

“I come seeking an audience with the king,” Jongdae said.

“The king?” the same guard asked incredulously.

“The king? You can’t,” the other guard shook his head.

“It’s about General Choi. He’s gone missing, and I think the king would take an interest in his greatest military leader’s disappearance,” Jongdae crossed his arms. The guards hesitated a moment longer before finally opening the golden gates.

Jongdae lead his horse through the open gates, observing the multitude of rosebushes that lined the walkway to the enormous front doors of the castle. Once his horse was taken to the stables and he was lead inside, he was immediately ushered to a waiting room with long windows as tall as the high ceiling framed by wispy, pink curtains. There were roses everywhere…resting in the vases, embroidered carefully in the patterns of the luxurious cushions, and hanging from the ceiling.

Bored, Jongdae searched the room for anything interesting, but found the drawers of the furniture all empty except for rose petals. Of course.

An hour later, he thought it was finally time to see the king, but no…He was just moved to another waiting room…this time with irises. The flowers were beautiful, but Jongdae’s head was beginning to hurt from the strong perfume of the multitude of flowers, so he laid on the deep violet couch, relishing in the softness of the velvety fabric.

Moments later, a maid knocked on the door before bringing him a glass of water filled with rose petals. Jongdae thanked her and waited until she left before he picked them out and thirstily drank.

And finally after being moved around to countless other waiting rooms, Jongdae was ready to think that he would never meet the king until finally… _finally_ an attendant flew in and announced it was time. And so finally… _finally_ , Jongdae found himself walking past more rooms that held who the fuck knew how many more flowers. Around him, servants and attendants all bustled around him, and Jongdae couldn’t help but reflexively tense and hold his breath as a crowd of butlers flew past them. But when they flew past him without even sparing him a glance, Jongdae relaxed. It was odd to be surrounded by light fairies that didn’t want to kill him.

Eventually they reached the bottom of the long hallway of stairs that trailed upwards. The attendant already began steadily flying upwards, but paused and hovered in the air as she realized Jongdae was not keeping up with her.

“You’re not going to fly? Walking up these stairs is so tiring,” she said, taking the time to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in her satin dress that was embroidered with a swirling pattern of emerald leaves and gold twigs.

“And flying isn’t?” Jongdae asked. But what would he know since he had never flown before?

“Suit yourself, love,” she chuckled before she flew onwards with her light brown wings and waited at the top of the stairs for him to finish. Jongdae then looked at the remaining steps and sprinted the whole rest of the way before reaching the top.

“Wow…You’re not even winded? No wonder you’re General Choi’s attendant. You must be fitter than some of our army soldiers that come home. Well. The ones that do come home anyway,” she said so casually that Jongdae didn’t even know if it seemed like a relevant matter to her.

But he didn’t even have time to reply because the attendant was already opening the big, grand doors to the throne room.

“Wait!” Jongdae said, reaching out to stop her, “I…Do I have to bow? Multiple times? Do I have to say anything? How do I—”

“Oh, you’re so cute,” she laughed, “Don’t worry. The king is…laidback. If you bow and be mindful of his crown, he’ll like you without any problems.”

Jongdae exhaled and thanked her. A laidback king? In _this_ war? Jongdae briefly thought of Kyungsoo who didn’t even allow himself a day’s worth of rest just in case it might cause casualties, who insisted on staying and fighting on the frontlines because what was a king who let his people die for him while he rotted away in his castle doing nothing?

The attendant gave Jongdae another moment before opening the doors.

“You’ll be fine, love,” she said, giving him a push as he stumbled into the throne room.

Jongdae managed to regain his balance as he stood on the carpet that was richly embroidered with daffodils. He did not even question that the golden thread that was woven in was probably real gold.

“Presenting Jongdae, General Choi’s personal attendant, who has requested a meeting with the king,” a guard announced beside Jongdae as he slammed the blunt bottom of his spear to the ground in order to call attention. Jongdae glanced at the spear’s dull edge, lack of a grip, lack of any sign of wear or use, and deemed it must be more for ornamental usage then.

But as he looked away from the guard and directly in front of him as he began walking across the carpet, Jongdae was suddenly very aware of all the nobles seated around the room staring at him curiously.

Some of these people surely must have ordered military orders that cost his people their lives.

As Jongdae walked up the carpet, the king appeared closer and closer…and suddenly Jongdae stopped at a reasonable distance before bowing. The king sat on a lavish throne that was carved with golden flowers and suns. His robes seemed to be made of the finest golden silk, his wings seemed to be made of pure, glowing light, and his crown was bigger than his whole head. It was a wonder it hadn’t fallen off the king’s head or that it hadn’t yet crushed his skull.

“Jongdae, is it? What do you think of my crown?” the king asked, noticing Jongdae’s staring, “Do you think it suits me? Is it a good crown? Should I trade it for another?”

Was this…a test?

“…No, Your Majesty, but I’m sure…a simpler crown would enhance your already lovely features instead,” Jongdae said.

Oh well.

It wasn’t as if the king would kill him when he looked like a light fairy, right?

The king looked at him slowly before the fairy beside him stared at Jongdae with wide eyes. Ah. Did he just commit a mortal offense?

The king blinked before throwing his crown to the floor and throwing his head back to laugh. Attendants around him scrambled to pick up the gems that had fallen from the crown.

“I told you this crown was too much for me!” he chortled, “It doesn’t suit me, the king of light fairies. We don’t need precious gems like those blasted dark fairies to be rich! Fetch me the other crown.”

Jongdae ignored the slight on dark fairies and breathed.

“So, Jongdae,” the king said as soon as a simpler crown with golden flowers was placed on his head, “What news do you have of General Choi?”

“He’s missing,” Jongdae said, causing the room to erupt in whispers.

“Missing? _Impossible_. He’s our best. Did the dark fairies take him?” the king asked.

“I don’t…know,” Jongdae said, improvising from here. He hadn’t exactly been told what to say, so he was just pulling excuses and mostly telling the truth, “Following a battle with the dark fairies, he was not among the dead, but no one saw him taken by the dark fairies. We don’t know what happened.”

“Is his nephew Minho leading the rest of the troops in his place then?” the king leaned forward to ask.

“Minho is dead,” Jongdae said, able to say that much.

“A pity,” the king said, though he didn’t look very sorry.

“Don’t you think we should tell Sooyoung now?” Jongdae asked, wondering if one of the nobles behind him was Sooyoung.

“Sooyoung? Who’s Sooyoung?” the king asked.

“General Choi’s daughter? Minho’s cousin?” Jongdae offered. How could the king remember Minho but not Sooyoung?

“Oh! Sooyoung…Yes. I remember very clearly,” the king said, clapping his hands together, “I guess she’ll be informed, poor thing.”

“Is she here? She’s a member of the court, isn’t she?” Jongdae stared at the king a little bit confusingly before looking back at the court members and their different colored wings around the throne room.

“She’s ill,” the king said.

“…Okay?” Jongdae said, trying to control the confusion from seeping onto his countenance. How could the king not know Sooyoung a moment before…but say that she was sick now?

“In the meantime, we’ll deploy extra troops to scour the lands for General Choi. We can’t have our best war leader missing, can’t we?” he smiled.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Jongdae said as he bowed.

“Do stay here until we find General Choi. The palace has many rooms that can accommodate you. And please do dine with us later tonight. I’d love to hear stories of General Choi and what you’ve been doing on the battlefield against those damned dark fairies,” the king said as the court laughed.

“That’s very kind of you, Your Highness,” Jongdae said, finding the energy to strain the corners of his lips in some semblance of a smile.

“Besides. You’re too small to be fighting anyways, so we can’t send you back out on the battlefield…it’s a wonder you survived the journey here alone. You would’ve been crushed instantly,” the king laughed.

Jongdae smiled more genuinely this time, keeping to himself the knowledge that he could kill the king right here, right now with nothing but his hands if he really wanted.

“Yixing, will you show him around? I’ll have someone send for him once his rooms are ready,” the king said.

 _Yixing_.

This was…too easy, wasn’t it? If Jongdae could shadow Yixing, then surely he could figure out everything, right?

A fairy wearing a soft, light green shirt emerged from his seat with a serene smile that seemed not too fitting for the minister of war and walked towards Jongdae and tilted his head towards the doorway.

“You’re a little too short to be a light fairy,” he observed, his dark purple wings slightly fluttering as they walked.

“Well. My genes must’ve been mutated a bit…and I didn’t listen to my mother and drink milk every day when I was younger,” Jongdae tried to laugh the comment off, hoping that General Choi’s borrowed wings would be enough to appease Yixing and any other light fairy that looked at him oddly.

“I see,” Yixing thoughtfully said before showing him around the east side of the castle, sweeping a hand out to gesture at the endless doorways. “These are the endless rows of parlor rooms. There’s one for mostly every type of flower.”

“Yes, yes…I know. I’ve sat in about half of them. I should know,” Jongdae said before growing impatient and boldly cutting straight to the point, “Are there any secret rooms around? Castles surely have secret rooms and hidden passageways, right?”

“You ask such big questions for such a small light fairy,” Yixing amusedly said before they were interrupted.

“My lord, you’re wanted…in a meeting,” a fairy breathlessly said before catching herself as soon as she saw Jongdae, her wings fluttering anxiously.

“Excuse me, Jongdae. It was a pleasure to meet you, but I’ll have to leave you now,” Yixing smiled, dimples flashing on his cheeks before he bowed and flew off.

Jongdae bowed back, relieved that he could explore the entire castle alone. He could investigate Yixing later…it’d be too obvious if he followed him now, and there were no shadows to hide behind in the brightly lit hallways of the castle anyway.

So Jongdae began looking in all the rooms he could find and hiding in the sparse shadows while eavesdropping on everyone that passed by him.

The nobles that he observed mostly lounged about idly and waved fans at each other as they gossiped about pointless things. Others sat around playing cards while plucking tiny pink fruit tarts from a plate a server held. Always, they discussed how much money they were making, what the cooks were going to make for dinner, who they were going to send out next in battle. But the strangely excessive amounts of laughter that echoed from their parlor rooms seemed just a little unnatural to Jongdae.

But it was more fun to eavesdrop on the maids and the cooks, Jongdae quickly realized.

As he stood by the door of the kitchen, he quickly found out which stable boy stole some lady’s heart, which people were missing from battle, and whispers about a secret passageway in the garden that could’ve made their lives easier so they wouldn’t have to cross through this blasted castle to get from one wing to the next.

Secret passageway?

That was something…

“Excuse me?” Jongdae smiled, waving at an incoming fairy who fluttered by on pale pink wings while balancing grand, golden plates on her arms,” Do you know which way is it to the palace gardens?”

The fairy blinked before slowly inclining her head towards the left so she would not spill the plates.

“Go straight down that hallway, make a left when you see the dark red room…not the burgundy rose room, but the dark rose room…and then you should find the doors leading to the outside,” she said as the plates rattled on her arms, threatening to topple and crash onto the polished marble floors.

Jongdae thanked her before passing down the left corridor filled with ornate statues and turned left after hoping that it was the right rose room. And luckily it was, as Jongdae reached a section of the castle where the wall was completely replaced by glass that allowed everyone to look out onto the gardens beyond.

With a jolt, Jongdae traced the path he had taken and realized that this was the direction Yixing was heading in…not like the political meeting rooms like he said earlier.

So with the moon for company, Jongdae pushed open the glass doors and ventured outside. The palace gardens were extremely well kept, and it seemed too easy to get lost in the twisting rows of high hedges and flowers. Jongdae wandered around, pressing on hedges hoping they’d reveal secret rooms, but nothing…nothing except bugs and birds flew out of the hedges.

 _Sorry!_ Jongdae thought to a bird, who merely glanced back as exasperatedly as it could before it flew off.

Jongdae was prepared to try displacing a stone bench in order to see what would happen before he stumbled upon someone dreamily looking at the roses and examining them closely.

Was that…a palace gardener?

If so…then Jongdae thought that yes, light fairies were known to be tall and so radiantly striking, but this one… _this_ light fairy…was the most beautiful of all, and none of the soldiers he had seen on the battlefield, none of the attendants he had seen around the castle, and none of the nobles he had seen today in court could compare.

The gardener had not noticed Jongdae’s staring yet, so Jongdae took the time to admire his distinct features that looked as if they had been lovingly crafted by the gods themselves, the way his soft lips curled up into a small, faint smile as he looked at the flower, the way he just looked…safe….as safe as he could given the yellow wings that fluttered slowly on his back.

But Jongdae had been gazing too long, and soon enough, the gardener looked up from his roses with a jolt and stared at Jongdae.

“Hello…Can I help you?” he asked curiously.

Well.

There was no way to it except being direct. So what could hurt now if he tried?

“I’ve heard that there’s a secret passageway in the garden. As a gardener, surely you must know if that’s true?” Jongdae asked.

The gardener looked at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Jongdae ignored the fact that the gardener was probably laughing at some mistake he had made in order to appreciate the way it looked like the sun had manifested itself right here right in front of him even though the night had fallen already.

“Did you just come here today?” the gardener asked after he finished laughing.

“As a matter of fact…yes,” Jongdae said, boldly stepping closer to the gardener until just a couple of inches separated them.

“Oh…really?” the gardener asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. If the short distance between them bothered him, he didn’t say anything, and he even leaned closer to whisper to Jongdae. “I don’t know what secrets you’re searching for…But there’s nothing like that in the gardens. Just flowers.”

Just flowers.

Just more fucking flowers. Everywhere.

Jongdae was about to thank the gardener for his time and try a different lead before the gardener’s request had Jongdae smiling.

“Do you want to help me fix the gardens?” he asked, a ray of hope flickering on his face as he waited for Jongdae’s response.

“Sure,” Jongdae said, suddenly feeling a rush of appreciation for roses. He might as well investigate the gardens for himself now…The gardener was probably unknowledgeable anyways about secret passageways. That was probably information privileged to select few.

But as the two of them walked through the gardens, even in the midst of war and in the middle of an attempt to save his people, Jongdae couldn’t help but take his time. Jongdae was used to the idea that he might not have enough moments to do everything he wanted to do because of the nature of his life, the nature of his tasks as a soldier, and the nature of his place in the war. So he just enjoyed his time, teasing out smiles and laughter from the gardener and relishing in how…how relaxed and at peace he felt. Jongdae felt almost as if there wasn’t a war that was still going on with no signs of a ceasefire anytime soon, as if there weren’t people dying, as if the people he had lost were still with him.

He felt like…

How this should have been had there been no war.

Two fairies.

One light, one dark.

Together.

“Do you want to help heal these dying flowers with me?” the gardener asked, interrupting Jongdae from his thoughts as he showed him a wilted flower from a rosebush to Jongdae.

Fuck.

Jongdae didn’t have even an ounce of light fairy magic within him, and he was sure that his light fairy wings could do nothing to save him in this moment, so he just shook his head.

“Why don’t you show me how good you are at your job?” Jongdae offered before winking at the gardener, “And it’ll be my job to protect you from any thorns and dark fairies out there.”

Jongdae was pleased when the gardener’s cheeks became tinged with a light pink more pretty than any roses around here. The gardener said nothing before holding his palm over the wilting flower for a few moments before removing it to reveal a perfectly blooming rose.

“I haven’t seen a dark fairy before. Have you? Are they as dangerous as I’ve been told?” the gardener then asked as he moved his hand out to heal another flower.

“You haven’t?” Jongdae asked. If the gardener knew he was facing a dark fairy right now…would he be disgusted? Scared? Afraid? “Haven’t you been outside the castle?”

The gardener glumly shook his head, his lips dropping into a little pout.

“I haven’t even seen a human before…and I really want to see what humans are like. More than anything in the world,” he blurted out before he paused, shocked by his own words before he quietly whispered out the rest, “I’m just curious about them. That’s all.”

“Why? What’s so bad about that?” Jongdae asked, reassuring the gardener who still looked scandalized at his own words, “We all have things we’re curious about.”

“I’m not allowed to be curious about humans. I have to focus on my lessons and do well in case my older brother—”

“Your gardening lessons?” Jongdae asked.

“Sure,” the gardener smiled mysteriously before asking Jongdae, “What about you then? What are you curious about?”

Jongdae honestly answered in a heartbeat.

He was having fun…the most fun he had since the day long ago that he, Minseok, and Baekhyun literally shouted _fuck it_ and stole some of Kyungsoo’s alcohol to get drunk after a long battle.

“Lots of things,” Jongdae answered, “When will the war end…how hot the sun is…and what a beautiful fairy like you is doing tending to flowers all day.”

There was no time to flirt in the battlefield.

Jongdae had been used to seeing around him not timid courtships, not sweet confessions, but just fierce kisses, whirlwind loves, and desperate affection. It was better to enjoy companionships day by day just in case they never came back.

But here…here in the garden, Jongdae let himself relax and take that time.

And the gardener spluttered and instantly raised his sweater-covered hands to cover his mouth before Jongdae laughed. But before the gardener could respond, in the distance bells chimed and rang out a tinkling tune, signaling the start of dinner soon.

“Oh…I have to go now,” the gardener said, “But I’ll see you again. I had fun.”

Jongdae, too, realized he should be going now…The king was expecting him for his first dinner here, and he was sure that if he showed up unwashed and filthy, he wouldn’t even be let in.

“Wait! What’s your name?” Jongdae found himself asking as the gardener began to leave.

“You’ll figure that out soon, I think,” the gardener nodded before leaving Jongdae behind.

Jongdae watched the gardener leave until he was out of sight before he picked a direction, hoping to somehow find his way back. A maid intercepted him and kindly lead him to his rooms bless her heart.

And when Jongdae reached his room, he couldn’t even register the maid telling him which room the dinner was in because he was stunned. He had been used to sleeping on the floor with a pillow if he was lucky, so when he looked at this room? This luxurious room with a giant bed and more pillows than he’d need?

Jongdae thought that for a second Kyungsoo hadn’t sent him on a suicide mission, but rather a nice vacation.

There wasn’t time for a proper long bath, so Jongdae simply washed his face and tidied up as best as he could, though he looked forward to being able to finally stretch out his wings and sleeping in that bed when he came back from dinner.

And at dinner, because he was a first time guest, Jongdae was to sit next to the king, and as he nervously walked next to the long banquet table, he hoped his wings looked right. As soon as he was close enough, he bowed in greeting to the king who sat at the very top of the table.

“Why didn’t you fly to the table?” the king asked as an attendant pulled out Jongdae’s chair for him.

“I prefer walking, Your Highness,” Jongdae said as he sat down.

“You’re such an interesting fairy,” the king said before gesticulating to the people around him, “Here…I don’t think you’ve met my sons before. Let me introduce them. This is Crown Prince Yifan, my eldest.”

From the right of the king, Yifan sat and nodded politely, his hair weaved to secure a silver circlet on his head.

“And his younger brother, Prince Sehun, beside him,” the king said.

And as Jongdae dragged his gaze from the king to Prince Yifan to Prince Sehun, he couldn’t help it.

He was a warrior…a soldier…trained for covert missions like this. But when he saw Sehun… _Sehun_ from the gardens?

The Prince.

Not a gardener, but a _prince_?

Jongdae’s jaw dropped.

“What is it now?” the king laughed.

“Your son… _sons_ , I mean are very beautiful, Your Highness,” Jongdae said, looking up in surprise at Sehun, who hid a smug smile behind his napkin. Yifan chuckled beside him.

“Well, they take after me, naturally,” the king nodded contentedly before clapping his hands. Waiters and waitresses flew in carrying plates of food, and Jongdae, who was used to eating sparsely on his time in the battlefield, was overwhelmed. Briefly, he felt guilty that his friends and other fellow dark fairies were struggling on meager portions and oftentimes just stew and bread while he was reaching out to fill his plate with roasted meat and sautéed vegetables and different types of finely baked breads.

And during the rest of the dinner, Jongdae fit in eerily well. His quick, unfiltered tongue amused the king, who complained of frilly nobles who always said the right, boring things they thought he wanted to hear, and the jokes he told made the king laugh the whole dinner much to the curious amusement of the rest of the fairy court.

And after dinner, the king announced he was retiring to his chambers, standing up to leave through the front doors as his sons stood up to leave with him. Now it was Sehun’s turn to wink at Jongdae before he left Jongdae staring in awe.

The nobles waited a few moments for the king to completely leave the room before they departed as well. Yixing touched Jongdae’s arm as he passed by and wished him a good night.

Jongdae trailed behind them and was about to head back to his own room before a hand reached out to pull him behind a large carved pillar.

“You! Prince Sehun,” Jongdae corrected himself before pausing, “Do you want me to bow now because I totally can, but—”

“No, it’s fine,” Sehun waved him off before grinning amusedly, “You should’ve seen your face at dinner.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a prince? No wonder you looked too high-class to be just a gardener…I was right,” Jongdae scowled.

“It’s fine, Jongdae. It was refreshing to spend some time with someone who spoke so openly and honestly with me. I liked that,” Sehun said.

“Do the nobles lie a lot then?” Jongdae said, feeling uncomfortable that his very appearance as a light fairy was a lie.

“They always tell me what they think I’d want to hear, or they’d soften up the truth if they think it would upset me. It’s very tiring…I hate being lied to,” Sehun said, wrinkling his nose in disgust, “They won’t even answer simple questions like…what is your favorite food? Did you enjoy the dinner?”

“Shame,” Jongdae said, “But I don’t think they could lie _that_ much about dinner because it was so good…I don’t think I’ve eaten that well since….”

He let himself trail off because he couldn’t really remember actually. This was the best he’d eaten since forever.

“Really?” Sehun’s expression lit up, “What do they even feed you on the battlefield?”

“Stew. Bread. Water. Sometimes meat if we’re lucky or someone goes hunting. Sometimes alcohol if we’re lucky or someone steals from Ky—…the supplies,” Jongdae said, “It gest tiring after a while.”

“What do you miss eating then?” Sehun asked, looking a little shocked at how poorly soldiers ate. Perhaps the nobles really did hide the truth from him, as he looked stunned to hear about these simple facts of war.

“I think…apples,” Jongdae said, recalling a time years ago they had passed under a rare apple tree and had stopped marching to harvest as many apples they could carry. For a week, everyone ate nothing but apples, cooked with apples, drank apple juice, and while it got sickening after a while, Jongdae missed the sweet taste.

“Apples? Okay,” Sehun nodded thoughtfully, “I’ll remember that. Now do you want to come walk with me now? The moonlight offers surprisingly good lighting for a stroll in the gardens at this hour.”

Jongdae had a mission.

A plan.

So why he decided not to investigate everything as he spent the rest of the night walking around the palace gardens with Sehun by his side…he did not know.

And that night, he did not find any evidence or secret weapons or hidden passageways.

But when he found his way back to his room, he did, however, find a small yellow rose bud somehow slipped into his pocket.

 

ϟ

 

The next day, Jongdae slept until the late afternoon. He had never slept this well in so long, and stretching, he thought of how fortunate he was to be sleeping in a bed again. And although the multitude of soft, embroidered pillows lay cluttered around his enormous bed unused, Jongdae wasn’t complaining.

Well. He supposed now would be a good time to start looking and investigating again.

Jongdae didn’t really know where to start, so he started trailing after some officials, trying his best to sneak within the shadows since he could not apply any glitter out of fear of being suspected. They spoke about the war all right, but none of them said any relevant things until they mentioned a name that had Jongdae interested immediately.

“Tell Yixing about the update. It’s good news,” one of them whispered, the other fairy nodding before walking away. Jongdae followed and crept stealthily in whatever shadows were allowed to exist in the bright hallways and hoped no one would see him.

The fairy flew into an office…probably Yixing’s and closed the door behind him.

And as he was just about to press his ear to the door to listen, a voice startled him.

“Where did you go today?” a voice loudly asked, “I tried looking all over for you, Jongdae.”

Jongdae ducked back around the corner away from the door so he would not be seen.

“Sh! I’m in the middle of…Sehun?” Jongdae whispered, raising a finger over his lips before he relaxed at the sight of Sehun.

“Why are you outside of Yixing’s office?” Sehun dropped his voice to a curious whisper, playing along as he placed a finger over his own lips to mirror Jongdae. “I wanted to give you this basket of apples, but you weren’t there at breakfast.”

Jongdae could only stare as Sehun held up a basket and pulled back the cover fabric to reveal apples.

“Apples?” he said incredulously.

“I remembered,” Sehun smiled, “I remembered you said it’d been a long time since you had any, so I picked some for you.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Jongdae said, “You remembered?”

Sehun remembered?

“Thank you so much, Sehun,” Jongdae said, reaching out with slightly trembling hands to hold the basket of apples, “That’s so sweet of you.”

Sehun beamed and was about to say something before the door of Yixing’s office opened.

“…Schedule further testing for tomorrow night,” Yixing’s voice echoed from inside before the fairy himself walked out with a serene smile, though looked questioningly at them.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asked. Jongdae had managed to quickly straighten himself up and step away from the door before Yixing noticed, but it was Sehun who spoke this time to save them from suspicion.

“No, sorry…Jongdae was just accompanying me to the gardens,” Sehun smiled, and Jongdae felt relieved.

“Fair enough. I’ll see you at dinner,” Yixing bowed before leaving. But Jongdae did not miss the subtle flash of a questioning look just before he left.

“Thanks,” Jongdae exhaled.

“I’m not going to ask what you were doing, but now you _have_ to go with me to the gardens,” Sehun said, “And since you’re my escort you _have_ to offer me your arm to hold since I’m the prince after all.”

“What happened to the shy Sehun I met? Do you ask this of everyone?” Jongdae laughed, but still he held out his arm for Sehun to take. Yixing lived in this castle, ate with the king every day, so Jongdae supposed he could investigate him…another time…

“Only my favorites,” Sehun grinned as he slipped his hand into the crook of Jongdae’s arm.

“I’m already your favorite? I’m flattered,” Jongdae said, but for a brief moment, he wondered how Sehun would react if he told him he was a dark fairy. Where would that affection go then?

“Yes…You jumped up my list easily after charming me in the gardens. When you thought I was a _gardener_ ,” Sehun said.

“Sorry about that again,” Jongdae said. They were walking closer and closer to the gardens while the sun began to set, shining and reflecting around the mirrors in golden gleams, so Jongdae let himself relax and hoped the moon would rise quickly.

“I told you it was fine,” Sehun waved him off before leaning forwards to heal a rose, explaining that he liked healing flowers so the real gardener wouldn’t have to cut them off. And slowly their conversation died down until silence fell…a silence that they spent sitting next to each other on a stone bench while watching water trickle and gurgle out of a fountain with a golden sun as its centerpiece.

“Jongdae, what are humans like?” Sehun suddenly asked, turning to look at Jongdae hopefully.

“Humans,” Jongdae began to carefully say, “Are fickle. Curious creatures who don’t know what’s good for them. They probably cause more problems than they can solve, but somehow, no matter how long it takes, everything works out in the end for them. If only that’d be the same for fairies, right?”

“Really?” Sehun interestedly asked, “You’re not lying to me, right? Are they really like that?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Sehun,” Jongdae chuckled, feeling the slightest bit guilty.

At least he wouldn’t about this.

“Have you ever seen them in person?” Sehun asked.

“Once,” Jongdae said slowly, “Just a few of them passed by our army. They kind of look like us, you know. Without the wings.”

“Wow,” Sehun said in awe, “I want to meet some one day…but do you want me to tell you about the sun now? Since you told me about humans?” Sehun gently asked, shuffling his feet around the gravelly ground.

“Sure,” Jongdae said, curious to hear what a person who could actually feel the sun would say about it.

“Maybe you spent your whole life away in a house like me, but at least I get to walk outside and see the sun,” Sehun smiled, “But it’s…it’s hot.”

There was that word again.

Hot.

Jongdae still didn’t know what it meant, but he was _dying_ to know…to know what it felt like. What was it?

“What is hot to you, Sehun?” Jongdae asked.

Sehun threw him an amused look before answering.

“It’s like…” Sehun began to thoughtfully say, “It’s like…when you hug someone you love after seeing them for the first time in ages. It’s suffocating…overwhelming because you missed them so much and all those emotions are burning you up. Sometimes it’s when you’re struck with the realization of how much you love someone. It sorts of hits you, you know? It smothers you…makes it hard to breathe, and yet your heart’s crackling with all this fiery passion. And other times it’s when you meet someone new that ignites something fierce in you and you just _know_ that you want them to stay forever even though you just met.”

“Wow,” Jongdae said, “That…was beautiful, Sehun.”

“Please tell my poetry tutor that,” Sehun said, “She’ll take back all the things she said about my poetry then.”

Jongdae nodded in agreement and thought about what Sehun had told him again and again and again. If that was the sun…then Jongdae had already experienced that always. He _did_ know that feeling of embracing people he missed after seeing them come back from battles for the first time in ages. He _did_. And he _did_ just meet someone new that—

“What is the sun to you then?” Sehun asked, shaking Jongdae from his thoughts.

“Another thing that I want, but cannot have,” Jongdae said.

“Then what are you doing here, Jongdae?” Sehun said in response, “Go out there in the world and feel the sun for yourself. Surely you don’t wear thick armor all the time to battle, right?”

“We do. We don’t want to die from a stray sword or an arrow, right?” Jongdae said.

“How about…one day we’ll escape the war together so I can see humans and you can see the sun the way we both want,” Sehun said, turning hopefully to Jongdae as he asked.

“This is a bold proposition to make to someone you only met yesterday, Sehun,” Jongdae said.

“But what about it? Yes or no?” Sehun said, looking pleadingly at Jongdae.

Jongdae didn’t know why he even bothered to answer because as soon as he would find the things he was looking for, he’d have to leave. And he didn’t even know why he answered because if he found the sun, he’d die. And he didn’t even know why he bothered to say yes because he had only met Sehun yesterday and it wasn’t like they were close friends or anything else.

So why he whispered out a _yes_ as he exhaled…breathed...he didn’t know.

But what he did know was that when Sehun’s face lit up with a brilliant smile soon afterwards, perhaps it would not be hard to find and feel the sun like he wanted after all.

  

ϟ

 

The next day, Jongdae tried to hide even more in the corners and rare spots of darkness as he shadowed officials and looked for Yixing. Not only did he feel more comfortable and at ease there, but he also did not want Sehun to spot him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy Sehun’s company.

It was just that he enjoyed it far too _much_ that he was afraid he would lose sight of why he was here after all. And it was most definitely not to court the younger prince of the light fairies. Kyungsoo would absolutely have him executed if he brought home not news of the supposed weapon of mass destruction destroyed, but rather a fucking _light fairy_.

But did this weapon even exist after all?

Jongdae had his doubts, as the military officials who worked under Yixing’s command didn’t seem to do anything worth noting. From the times Jongdae silently watched them, they all had the same conversations about the same shipments of weapons they were to send out this month, the same amount of soldiers they would need to enlist, the same amount of dead who did not survive the latest battle.

But they never did reveal what Yixing was testing.

So today he snuck into Yixing’s office, looking through papers on the top of his desk. Most of them were military documents and requests for military leave or service. But at the bottom of Yixing’s most bottom drawer lay sketches of…circles.

Circles?

Yixing wasn’t a terribly bad artist if he sketched these, as they were perfectly circular and symmetrical circles, but…what could they be?

But before Jongdae could get a chance to think or look more, the doorknob started to turn, so Jongdae quickly climbed up the bookshelves on the side of the room and hid on the ceiling among the shadows, grabbing onto the top of the chandelier just in time.

Yixing entered with two furious looking fairies, and while the two fairies were yelling at him harshly, Yixing still looked serene.

“This weapon will end the war once and for all,” Yixing said, “I promise you that.”

“And if it doesn’t?” one of the fairies asked, pushing back her long brown hair. “Do you know what type of tactics you’re going to use here?” Jongdae held his breath, trying to keep the chandelier steady as he held onto it. The two other fairies paced directly underneath him, and if they were to look up at any moment, he’d be fucked.

“Don’t worry, Jessica. I’ll take the fall for it then,” Yixing smiled even wider.

The fairies fell silent, considering whatever there was to be considered while Yixing let them and stared around the room as he waited for their response. Jongdae looked everywhere but Yixing, hoping that he wouldn’t be seen.

“If you would like to come to our next testing, then you can,” Yixing said, “Perhaps it would persuade you both when you see its effectiveness—”

“That’s not the _point_ ,” the other fairy angrily said, “The point is that this method of ending the war…this is genocide. Surely you have more honor than that?”

_Genocide?_

“But don’t you think it’s time for the war to end, Soojung? If this war could end with either the light or the dark fairies forever erased from history…don’t you think we should prevail? Don’t you think we should survive at the expense of them? But if not, would you like it if your families and you yourselves died while they survived?” Yixing said, and Jongdae shivered. Yixing was eerily calm, and the smile he flashed at the fairies remained stretched wide and too relaxed to be reassuring.

Jessica and Soojung fell into another deep silence, their twin lavender wings fluttering distressedly as they thought of Yixing’s words. It seemed they had been easily manipulated or cowered by Yixing’s rhetoric.

“Send for us when you conduct your next testing, and we will give you our final opinion then,” Soojung said before tugging the sleeve of Jessica’s arm before rushing out the door.

Jongdae then wondered how he was actually going to sneak out of here without Yixing noticing…because Yixing had walked back to his desk where he now sat and looked over documents. After about an hour passed, Jongdae was starting to grow tired and restless, hoping that the dinner bells would ring sometime soon and remove Yixing from here.

He could also feel a sneeze coming, too. Fuck.

Jongdae tried not to breathe as he fought to repress his sneeze, but someone knocked at the door.

“Hello, Yixing,” someone said, “Have you seen Jongdae today? I’ve been looking for him.”

_Sehun?_

“Ah…Hello, Prince Sehun,” Yixing greeted as he bowed deeply, “I’ve yet to see him today.”

“Oh,” Sehun said, the corners of his lips drooping downwards. Jongdae didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to do or say something to make Sehun smile again. But he still remained hiding and hoping…hoping no one would see him.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Yixing asked as he moved back to his desk and looked through papers, “I’ve a meeting to attend in a bit.”

“No, but if you see him, please do tell me,” Sehun sighed as he looked around the room.

And looked straight at Jongdae hanging from the ceiling.

_Fuck._

Sehun’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped open and he openly stared at him.

_Fuck._

Jongdae frantically shook his head and raised a single finger over his lips.

Sehun mimicked the action and raised his fingers, nodding as he silently promised he wouldn’t say anything, but this time when he looked back at Yixing, there was a full, wide grin bursting from his expression.

“Is everything okay?” Yixing said, looking at Sehun’s expression before flicking his gaze back to his papers for a moment.

And of course _this_ was when Jongdae had to finally sneeze. Slowly, Yixing started to look up from his papers.

But luckily, Sehun intervened.

“Aren’t you going to say ‘bless you’ to your own prince?” Sehun asked, moving into Yixing’s line of vision to shield Jongdae.

“My dear prince,” Yixing chuckled, “That is a human thing to do, and we are not humans. So please forget about them and focus on your studies like the king wants.”

Full offense but Jongdae wanted to leap down from the ceiling and fight Yixing right then and there from the way his words made Sehun’s glowing wings droop.

“I hate to leave your company, but I will take my leave now. That meeting calls,” Yixing said as he bowed deeply before exiting his office, leaving Sehun behind.

With a sigh of relief, Jongdae climbed down from the ceiling, but almost tripped on the last shelf before Sehun caught and steadied him.

“I found you,” he smiled, his wings raised and lightly fluttering excitedly.

“But I wasn’t lost. I was just here,” Jongdae said, unable to help himself too as he smiled at Sehun.

“What were you doing here?” Sehun asked, “And before you make any excuses…that’s twice I’ve saved you from him.”

“I…” Jongdae began to say.

“If you’re going to lie to me, don’t say anything at all. But can you tell me?” Sehun curiously asked. He had not let go of Jongdae’s arm just yet.

“General Choi asked me to investigate him,” Jongdae said, taking a risk.

That wasn’t a lie after all.

“Oh! Oh…For what?” Sehun asked.

“Something he’s plotting. I don’t know yet, so that’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Jongdae said. “But please don’t tell anyone. Okay?”

“Thanks for trusting me,” Sehun nodded, “I won’t tell anyone. Not that there’s anyone to tell anyways.”

“Why were you looking for me anyways?” Jongdae asked.

“Is it so bad to want to spend time with you? We rarely have guests as interesting as you,” Sehun said. His hand was still grasping Jongdae’s arm.

“I’m supposed to be investigating, and I don’t exactly have a lot of time since we’re at war—” Jongdae said.

“Then take me with you,” Sehun eagerly said, “I can be your cover.”

“Okay,” Jongdae said. Okay.

So Sehun excitedly lead the way this time to the gardens looking for the secret passageway Jongdae told him about. Of course he took one detour to show Jongdae the endless orchards of apple trees before flying to the top of one to pick him the best apple he could find. They didn’t find any secret passageways or destructive weapons that time, but Jongdae supposed he could try again tomorrow.

And the day after tomorrow.

And the day after tomorrow.

And the day after tomorrow.

Jongdae didn’t have much time, but just like the way he’d stare at the moon before closing his eyes and pretending it was the sun, he liked to believe he had all the time in the world for this. For Sehun. For life.

 

ϟ

 

To be honest, Jongdae almost forgot about Sooyoung.

Of course that was _awful_ since half of his task was to find Sooyoung and bring her back to General Choi.

But she had continually been absent from court, and whenever Jongdae asked around about her, he always received the same answers delivered in the same way.

 _She’s not here_ a noble lady named Yuri laughed as she waved her fan around.

 _She’s not here_ Jessica laughed as she delicately picked up a pink fruit tart.

 _She’s not here_ a butler laughed before bowing deeply.

So when a light fairy flew at Jongdae at full force, he never expected it to be _her_.

“Jongdae,” the fairy desperately called as she tightly grabbed his shoulders. Jongdae took a step back to recover from the force of her momentum, but after he caught a glimpse at the fairy’s familiar green wings as green as his own borrowed ones, he took another step back and looked.

Shoulder-length brown hair.

Butterflies fluttering around her crown of fresh flowers.

Unmistakable beauty.

“Sooyoung?” Jongdae cautiously asked.

“You said my father’s missing?” she desperately asked, digging her fingers into Jongdae’s shoulders.

“Yes,” he said, placing his hands over Sooyoung’s to comfort her and to perhaps help her relax because her grip was…scarily strong. “We’re looking for him, but I’m sure he’s alive.”

“You can’t be sure,” she shook her head, tears threatening to spill from her red-rimmed eyes. “What if he’s dead already? Why aren’t you looking for him?”

“I’ve been sent here to tell the king about his disappearance. There are many others looking for him…and when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll be able to take you with me to see him again,” Jongdae tried to soothe her.

“Of course,” Sooyoung said nodding frantically, “I haven’t seen him in so long. Please make sure he is alive.”

Jongdae nodded, feeling just a little intimidated by the way Sooyoung leaned in, staring intently at Jongdae while she continued to grip his shoulders. From the close distance, Jongdae could smell fresh roses.

“Sooyoung,” another voice called out, “I haven’t seen you in…a while. Where have you gone?”

Jongdae turned to see Sehun flying towards them before lightly landing on his feet. He was not surprised this time when Sehun’s hands reached for his arm and offered it to him reflexively.

“Sick. I was sick,” she said, stunned by Sehun’s sudden appearance. She released Jongdae before bowing and flying away as quickly as she had flew in.

“Okay,” Jongdae said as he watched her fly away. “That was mildly scary.”

“She wasn’t always like that,” Sehun said, “It’s odd…I haven’t seen in her in so long, but she was always so nice. Smiling all the time. Sometimes at parties I liked to dance with her.”

“I guess that’s what war does, you know,” Jongdae said, “No one likes it when family members go to war and may not come back.”

“Are you sure you’re not General Choi’s secret son? Your wings look so similar to Sooyoung’s,” Sehun said, turning to look back at Jongdae’s wings.

“I’m not his son,” Jongdae insisted before asking a question so Sehun would not press the subject further, “If light fairies from the same families have similarly colored wings, then why are yours light yellow while the king’s looks like…light? Pure light?”

“When a light fairy becomes king, his wings become pure light. So those in the royal family or those in line will have the same color. Light yellow,” Sehun said before letting go of Jongdae’s hands as he spun around to show off his wings. Gentle light shining through the windows danced on Sehun’s wings and caused them to shimmer even more beautifully. “Do you think they’re beautiful?”

“Yes,” Jongdae said, watching safely in awe from the shadows. Yes, he was.

“I think yours are beautiful, too,” Sehun smiled before stepping into the shadows to take Jongdae’s arm again. “I ditched lessons again today so I could find you. Yifan wasn’t that pleased, but whatever. He’s going to be the king one day, so I’d rather help you look around.”

“You never know,” Jongdae said, “What if you’ll be the king one day if something happens?”

“But I don’t want to,” Sehun said, his expression falling slightly, “I don’t want too many duties and lives resting on me, and I don’t want to make hard decisions that might cause other people to die. It’s all too much. And I’m sure Yifan will be a better king than me.”

“You never know,” Jongdae repeated, “You have the chance to be king, to be remembered…I think that’s amazing.”

“I’ll already be remembered anyways since I’m prince. I’ll just be King Yifan’s insolent younger brother,” Sehun shrugged, “And you can be my—”

But as they passed by the kitchens, Jongdae suddenly froze as frantic yelling echoed from the kitchen and as storms of billowing smoke escaped and an ashy smell wafted in their direction.

Smoke.

Burnt flesh.

Quickly, Jongdae found himself reeling, finding it hard to breathe as flashes of fragmented images and memories resurfaced after they were triggered by the smell of burning flesh. Eyes wide, Jongdae tried to gasp for breath, and he immediately staggered to the wall for support.

“What is it? What’s wrong, Jongdae?” Sehun panicked, hands hovering over Jongdae concernedly.

Jongdae shook his head and focused on his breathing…But it was too much. The smell reminded him of that day… _that_ day where the dark fairies had desperately set fire to the light fairies’ camps in an attempt to win the battle before the sun came up. And oh what a bloody battle that was. Burning light fairies screamed as the putrid smell of their burning flesh filled the air.

“Here…Sit…You’ll be okay. You’re going to be fine,” Sehun said, noticing Jongdae’s heaving chest and trying his best to take care of him.

Jongdae sat and breathed, focusing on Sehun’s soothing voice as he fought to fight pictures of the end of the battle out of his mind. The sun had risen that day and so many dark fairies had burned right before his eyes, too.

“You’re here right now…You’re alive…You’re doing just fine,” Sehun murmured. Jongdae couldn’t say anything in return, but he was grateful Sehun seemed to know what to say, and Jongdae focused on his voice more and more…more and more until he could breathe a little easier and until the images began to fade slowly from his mind.

After a while, he exhaled long and hard and looked at Sehun in front of him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sehun gently asked, looking concernedly at Jongdae.

All Jongdae could do was jerk his head noncommittally, but Sehun understood.

“Okay,” he said, moving to sit next to Jongdae, “I’ll be right here. I won’t leave you.”

They stayed there in silence for a while until the cooks had managed to waft the smell of the smoke completely away, until Jongdae could finally breathe normally again, and until the maids and servants bustling in and out of the kitchen began gossiping not about the court lady who ran away with the stable boy, but about the prince and the soldier who sat outside the kitchens with their hands tightly clasped together. 

 

ϟ

 

Even after Jongdae had long calmed down, Sehun was still adamant about not leaving him.

It was hard, though, as Sehun was prince and had to attend his many princely duties. And if Sehun’s tutors refused to let him skip any more lessons, then obviously the only compromise was Sehun attending his lessons only if Jongdae could come.

And this was how Jongdae came to personally meet Prince Yifan, future king of the light fairies and Sehun’s clumsy older brother.

Before, he had not spoken much face to face with Yifan aside from a few casual dinner conversations, but dinner at light fairy court was hardly a place to become closely acquainted with anyone since the conversations were light and there was always laughing, so much laughing that it was hard to hear someone from over the table. So Jongdae had always relied on Sehun’s words to learn about Yifan.

“Yifan will be a good king one day,” Sehun said one day they were at some important court gathering in a ballroom.

“Okay,” Jongdae nodded, glancing over Sehun’s shoulder across the room as he watched Yifan examine a porcelain sculpture of roses. Yifan observed them quietly before reaching out a hand to touch a fragile rose…only to accidentally cause the stem to shatter and fall off. Quickly, Yifan shoved the broken stem into his pocket and turned away, obviously hoping no one had noticed. “Sure, Sehun. Sure.”

“He really will!” Sehun laughed, bumping Jongdae’s arm lightly with his elbow, “He’s a good brother, so he’ll be a good king, too.”

And during Sehun’s lessons, Jongdae didn’t know how much he could attest to Yifan being a good king, but he was nice enough, always kindly smiling at Jongdae in greeting before he hugged Sehun. Sehun was fond of Yifan, but Yifan was perhaps even fonder of Sehun, Jongdae observed.

And during those lessons, it was Yifan who paid attention and took diligent notes while Sehun stared out the window or stared at Jongdae while sighing deeply, ready for the lesson to be over.

Jongdae didn’t like some of their lessons though. Maybe the princes’ tutors thought lying to them was right and merciful, maybe their history had been recorded wrongly, but whatever this was…Jongdae didn’t like their lessons.

“The war is going well,” their tutor said, “The light fairies have an advantage as they strike during the day, and it seems that the dark fairies have been pulling back. At night they hunt for bats and night birds to feed themselves, which is what their diet mostly consists of.”

Jongdae instantly tilted his head and fought the urge to laugh. Eating birds and bats? Why would they eat some of their own good allies?

“Really?” Sehun asked, “That’s...interesting.”

“Really?” Jongdae said, unable to hide the amusement from his voice, “Is this what you’re really taught?”

“Learning about our enemy is important,” Yifan wisely nodded, turning to face Jongdae. This time Jongdae really had to bite back a laugh as he gazed at Yifan’s face. Somehow Yifan had managed to smudge dark ink over his face without realizing. Long live the future king indeed. “If we can find an understanding with them, then maybe this war can end sooner.”

“No, you learn about the enemy so you can destroy them easier,” their tutor said, pounding his fist on his lectern for emphasis. No one looked impressed.

“Well,” Jongdae said, straightening up before leaning across the desk, the corners of his lips smugly turning up, “Actually, either way no one is learning anything because this is all wrong information.”

“Oh,” Sehun softly said, “I’ve been learning lies?”

“I don’t know what you’ve been learning before,” Jongdae shook his head, “But this whole lesson as a lie.”

“Listen here, soldier,” the tutor crossly said.

“No, _you_ listen,” Jongdae shook his head, “Dark fairies do not eat bats or hunt birds…They eat the same things you eat, drink the same things you drink…They’re not barbarians if that’s what you think.”

“Oh really?” the tutor said, glaring at him, “And how would you know this?”

“Because I lived it,” Jongdae said, continuing to speak before anyone started suspecting, “I see dark fairies…how they live, how they die. The battleground’s a terrible place, but from what I’ve seen, you’re wrong. Dark fairies aren’t so different, you know?”

“The truth,” Sehun said in nothing short of awe, “Thank you for the truth.”

“How do you know what he said is true?” his tutor huffed, “What makes you believe him and not me, a learned scholar?”

“It’s Jongdae,” Sehun nodded confidently, “He wouldn’t lie to me.”

Jongdae uncomfortably flexed his black wings under his robes and resisted the urge to reveal them right here, right now. This was the only truth he would keep from Sehun.

But honestly during the next lesson on war strategies, Yifan had proved to Jongdae that perhaps all kings and kings to be were the same.

“If you could end the war or win a risky situation at the cost of one life, would you do it?” the tutor asked, glancing at Yifan and Sehun expectantly.

“When would we ever be in a situation like that?” Sehun asked, “That seems highly unlikely.”

“Now,” the tutor said, “We are at war, and –”

“Don’t lie to me,” Sehun sighed, “If that was the case, then I’m sure some—”

“Anyways,” the tutor interrupted, “One life for thousands. Would you do it?”

Yifan thought carefully until he finally spoke.

“If it’s only one fairy’s life to trade for many, then I would have to choose to give up that one individual,” Yifan slowly said. Kings and princes and military officials always thought they were making difficult decisions like that. A life for a thousand. A life for everyone else. But it wasn’t their life to barter away like that, and at least Yifan had the decency to look guilty as he refused to look at anyone or anything but the floor after he spoke. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, had often calmly and collectedly given out countless orders like this without even the blink of an eye.

“Interesting. And you, Prince Sehun?” their tutor asked.

“I’d find some way to help that one fairy live,” Sehun crossed his arms, “There has to be a way where everyone can live.”

“But in this scenario, it’s everyone or just the one,” the tutor said.

“Everyone will die sometime anyways. But it doesn’t have to be today,” Sehun shrugged, “So I don’t want anyone to die today because of a choice I make.” Jongdae honestly thought it was a pity Sehun was so adamant against becoming king one day. He respected and supported his wishes, but briefly he thought that Sehun could honestly be the light fairy king that would end the war and bring peace at last.

“And you, Jongdae?” the tutor asked, “As someone who’s seen the battlefield, I’m curious about your answer. What would you do?”

Jongdae straightened up and laughed at the reality of his situation.

“Me? I’d probably be that one fairy,” Jongdae chuckled humorlessly. He had been that fairy, was that fairy right now, and probably would always be that expendable fairy to Kyungsoo.

But the only difference now was that there was a prince sitting right next to Jongdae who had already indignantly opened his mouth to protest that _no_ , he would never let that happen, _no_ Jongdae would never be used like that as long as he was alive, and _no_ , he would die before he would give up Jongdae like that.

 

ϟ

 

As much as Jongdae enjoyed or at least tried to enjoy endless lessons with Sehun, he still needed to find that secret passageway and destroy whatever weapon of destruction Yixing had created. So, he let Sehun attend his lessons by himself during the day while he snuck out during the afternoon to search the castle. His plan had worked mostly, and for a few days he was comfortably looking without Sehun to easily distract him.

But one day, Sehun had breathlessly entered Jongdae’s room with a bang, jolting him from his slumber.

“Come with me to my shadow reading today please,” Sehun begged as he immediately flung himself onto Jongdae’s bed in distress.

“You escaped everyone and busted out of your lessons just to ask me to come to your ceremony?” Jongdae asked, opening one sleepy eye to gaze at Sehun. Yesterday, he had stayed up until sunrise unsuccessfully finding the passageway, so he wanted to sleep _more_.

“…Yes?” Sehun said, looking hopeful.

But Jongdae was used to an hour of sleep or less on the battlefield, and Sehun looked so entreatingly at him, so he sleepily yawned before hands gently tugged him upwards and supported him until he could sit up straight on his own. It was lucky he was too tired yesterday to change out of his robes and free his own wings.

“Jongdae, everyone’s going to be there…the king, my brother, the whole court. What if my shadow is read as bad?” Sehun worriedly asked.

Perhaps this was some ancient light fairy tradition. It was odd how light fairies and dark fairies still had some similarities despite their ancient hostility. Dark fairies had shadow rites too, but most involved dancing behind screens to project shadows and shadow games that Jongdae was used to playing with Minseok and Baekhyun. So Jongdae was interested to see how shadows were important to light fairies.

And Sehun needed him, too.

So what could Jongdae do except go?

“You’ll be fine,” Jongdae smiled, and in the haze of his slumber, he absent-mindedly reached forward to lightly pat Sehun’s cheek. “You’re going to have the best shadow read of all time.”

“Jongdae, you should get dressed,” Sehun managed to say, turning to rummage in Jongdae’s closet to hide his burning cheeks.

“I suppose I do,” Jongdae said, but widened his eyes when Sehun began attempting to disrobe him. His hands instinctively flew to his chest to block the strings from being torn off.

“You have to hurry,” Sehun said, “Or we’ll be late!”

“I’ll do it,” Jongdae said, escaping into the bathroom to change before Sehun could say anything else.

That was close…Jongdae allowed his wings to stretch out for a second before folding them back and changing into the robes Sehun had selected for him.

Moments later, he walked outside only to see Sehun staring with his jaw dropped open.

“What’s wrong?” Jongdae said, wiping his damp hands with a towel, “Say something, Sehun. You’re scaring me.”

“I…” Sehun stammered, “You always look good, but Jongdae, I’m…”

Jongdae chuckled and walked forwards until he was close to Sehun.

“A prince shouldn’t have any wrinkles on his robes,” Jongdae said, smoothing out the front of Sehun’s robes even though there weren’t any wrinkles.

“Well then you shouldn’t either,” Sehun playfully responded and smoothed the front of Jongdae’s robes back. But when he was done, he did not remove his hands and instead grasped Jongdae’s robes tighter, tighter, _tighter_ until Jongdae felt himself gently pulled closer and closer to Sehun.

Sehun was looking so fondly, so earnestly at Jongdae, and honestly Jongdae forgot that he was here only to save his people, he forgot that some of his fellow soldiers were probably already dead in the time he was missing, he forgot that there was a war raging on because right now he wanted nothing more than to kiss Sehun right then and –

But the clock signaling the hour struck, causing Sehun to let go in a panic before grabbing Jongdae’s hand and rushing out the door.

“We’re late!” Sehun said, “We can’t be late!”

“Just let it happen,” Jongdae said as Sehun pulled him along, “You’re the prince, so they should wait for you. It’s not like they’d start without you.”

“I don’t want the court to get angry,” Sehun said. “Let’s fly there, okay?”

“No,” Jongdae said, “I can’t.”

He meant it.

“Let’s run, right? We can run…You’re good at running, right?” Jongdae offered.

“A light fairy that won’t fly?” Sehun stopped in his tracks to mutter. “Jongdae, I’ll carry you myself there…Come on! We can’t be late!”

And so Jongdae found himself abruptly scooped up and carried by Sehun who flew them as quickly as he could to the northern ballroom where the ceremony was supposed to be held. Sehun was stronger than he looked, and from his time in the air, Jongdae thought that if he closed his eyes this would feel almost like true flying, too. But instead he kept his eyes open, wide open so he could gaze at Sehun from up close and admire the strong jawline, his determined eyes, his soft lips that he wanted to lean over and just k—

But there they had soon arrived, so Sehun lightly put down Jongdae and turned to him.

“How do I look? Is everything okay?” Sehun worriedly asked, spinning in front of Jongdae.

“You look fine,” Jongdae smiled, though reached upwards to smooth the tops of Sehun’s robes one last time.

“Prince Sehun, you’re _late_ ,” an attendant hissed as she found Sehun before dragging him inside.

“You’ll be fine,” Jongdae said, waving at Sehun as the attendant pushed him deeper into the room.

“Announcing! Prince Sehun,” the announcer said, giving Jongdae just enough time to slip into the shadows of the room where he could comfortably watch.

Sehun entered, and while to the public eye he may have looked composed, Jongdae noticed the way he pressed his lips tightly together and the way he gripped the sides of his robes as he strode in. But prince he still was, so he walked in with his head held high with all the possible calm grace he could muster in the moment before standing at the front of the room. Yifan smiled at him reassuringly, and the king nodded his head before summoning the shadow interpreter to the front of the room.

“Today,” the shadow interpreter said while her completely translucent wings fluttered behind her, “Today marks the date of our celebration of Prince Sehun’s shadow reading. As you know…”

The shadow interpreter droned on, and Jongdae tuned out as he gazed into the crowd, finding familiar servants fluttering about with refreshments, familiar lords and ladies pretending to look absolutely interested, Sooyoung standing next to Yuri, Soojung, and Jessica and looking much happier than she had the last time he’d seen her, and Yixing who stood serenely as they all watched.

“Step into the light, Prince Sehun,” the shadow interpreter finally called out what seemed like eternities later. Sehun nervously moved forwards into the light, and immediately, his shadow appeared behind him. The interpreter moved to the side and looked, silently examining it for a while. Sehun looked nervous, fingers fumbling against each other.

“My prince,” the shadow interpreter said before breaking out into a wide smile, “Your shadow is good. Pure. You have the makings of a good king just like your brother Prince Yifan.”

“So I’ll be a good person?” Sehun asked hopefully, ignoring the reference to his nobility.

“As long as you choose to immerse yourself with matters of the crown and light fairies, then our people will see prosperity with you,” the shadow interpreter said. Yifan cheered loudly, leading a round of applause around the room, and the king bellowed with approval that this was his _son_ , his amazing _son_. The rest of the court swarmed to the front of the room to congratulate Sehun, so Jongdae waited his turn in line, keeping as close to the shadows as possible. And as he waited, Jongdae was sure that if he was alive long enough to see Sehun’s ascension to the throne should he ever change his mind and if Kyungsoo was still alive then maybe…maybe peace could be possible.

The court then began to disperse just in time for Jongdae to reach Sehun.

“See? What did I tell you,” Jongdae said as he reached Sehun. “There was nothing to worry about.”

“I guess you’re right,” Sehun said, reaching for Jongdae’s arm reflexively. “What did your shadow reading say when you got yours read?”

“I…never got mine read?” Jongdae said before hastily adding, “There wasn’t any time, you know. Because of the war.”

“Really?” Sehun asked, “Then let’s get your read now!”

Before Jongdae could protest, Sehun lead him to the shadow interpreter. By now, the court and the audience had dispersed, so it was just them.

“Excuse me, but my friend has never gotten his shadow read since he was in the military. Can you please do it for him?” Sehun asked as the interpreter turned to give him her attention.

“Of course!” the shadow interpreter beamed, “Anything you wish, my prince.”

“Can you step into the light please?” the shadow interpreter asked, gesturing for Jongdae to step into the bright beam of direct sunlight.

“I…” Jongdae said, slowly beginning to silently panic.

“Go! You’ll be fine,” Sehun smiled, letting go of Jongdae’s arm.

Jongdae took a tentative step forward and closed his eyes…he couldn’t be here, he couldn’t be here, he couldn’t be here…He couldn’t die _here_ right _now_ after all the battles he survived…

“Hm,” the shadow reader said, causing Jongdae to escape back into the shadows in relief. “Honestly, it’s not good. Why do you have two wings? Your fairy wings yes…but what are those other wings I saw?”

Jongdae said nothing, but calmly thought that she couldn’t have seen his dark fairy wings, right? They were still concealed.

“I get a bad aura from him,” the shadow interpreter said, gasping as she took a step back.

“It’s not funny to lie,” Sehun snapped, standing closer to Jongdae.

“Your friend cannot be trusted,” she insisted, “My prince, please stay away.”

“It’s not funny to _lie_ ,” Sehun shook his head, “Forget that I asked.”

“Come,” he gently said as he took Jongdae’s arm to lead him away, “Let’s go.”

Jongdae felt bad he was betraying Sehun’s trust, but what could he do since light fairies had been conditioned to distrust dark fairies because of the war?

“Hey,” Sehun said, looking once more like the young prince who was flustered and waiting outside the ballroom doors only moments ago, “You didn’t forget what you promised, right? You would take me out of here when you leave, right? So I can see humans and you can see the sun like you want. Right?”

Jongdae looked back at Sehun in surprise. He had only hid one lie from Sehun this whole entire time, and what he said next was not that lie.

“Yes,” he said, “I won’t leave you.”

Sehun beamed at Jongdae’s words, but Jongdae wasn’t done speaking as he raised a hand to speak again.

“But you’ll…have to be used to not who I am right now,” Jongdae said, choosing his words as carefully and closely as possible, “Out there…I’m Jongdae who’ll have to kill on the battlefield, who’ll have to do some dangerous, unjust things, who’ll—”

“And that’s okay,” Sehun said, “I like you as you are, and no matter what you do, who you’ll be, I’m sure you’ll still be you.”

“You don’t understand,” Jongdae said, on the brink of telling and trying so hard to restrain himself, “I’m different out of here. Who’s to say you won’t like me then?”

“You have no faith in yourself,” Sehun sighed, “What we do doesn’t make us who we are sometimes. What we think, who we love, what we choose to show make us who we are. So if you’re a soldier, then you’re a soldier. What you have to do because of the war is different than the person I know you are.”

“Sehun,” Jongdae said, “Are you sure you don’t want to be king? I think you’d be the best.”

“Yes, I am _sure_ ,” Sehun nodded fervently, “I don’t want the responsibility and I don’t want people to die due to choices I have to make. I want everyone to survive as long as possible. But enough of that…When are you leaving? After you finish whatever General Choi’s asked you to investigate?

“Yeah,” Jongdae said, “As soon as I figure that out. But you really want to go then? You’ll have to go to the battlefield. But you shouldn’t go there.”

“I can wait. Until the war is over and then you can take me to the humans. I’ll make myself useful on the battlefield!” Sehun said, “Look after you, make sure you don’t die.”

“More like I’ll have to hover around you to make sure no one comes after you,” Jongdae said, “Me, your bodyguard.”

“You, my favorite,” Sehun responded.

And while the two of them smiled, the words that the shadow interpreter spoke earlier could not stop ringing in both of their minds, too.

 

ϟ

 

The next day, Sehun was forced to stay inside for lessons all day, so Jongdae promised that they would spend time together after he was done. So today, he continued scouring the castle, listening in on conversations. But it was all the same. All the officials and lords and ladies laughed, indulged in games and food, and always had the same conversations. There really was no depth to this court. No one was plotting to usurp the throne, no one was plotting to blackmail anyone, no one was even slandering the king behind his back, which was odd, because if Jongdae could count how many times he’d heard Kyungsoo cursed out among his fellow soldiers he’d probably never stop counting.

The light fairy court seemed…dull. But Jongdae wasn’t complaining because their complacency made it easy to slip through uncared for and unnoticed.

It seemed, however, that the people that he really only had to pay serious attention to were Yixing and—

“Sooyoung?” Jongdae said, straightening up from where he was listening in on a conversation in a parlor room outside.

“Jongdae,” Sooyoung said, a look of questioning flitting across her face before it disappeared, “Do you have any news about my father?”

“No,” Jongdae shook his head but continued speaking after Sooyoung looked crestfallen, “But please don’t worry. I know he’s alive…You’ll see him again.”

“Trust me,” he added when Sooyoung didn’t seem to be calmed by that.

Sooyoung looked up….or more like looked down at Jongdae because she was so tall, and gazed at Jongdae a moment longer, her gaze searching…searching…searching for something Jongdae didn’t even know until her expression relaxed and she smiled. And when she smiled, Jongdae briefly remembered General Choi’s words all that time ago. Truly she indeed looked more beautiful than any spring day.

After that, she seemed to brighten up even more, offering to show Jongdae around the castle, which was…great since she showed him secret hallways and hidden passages that somehow even Sehun didn’t know about.

“I like hiding here sometimes,” Sooyoung admitted when she lead Jongdae to a secret attic above the library that expanded throughout the whole castle, “There are little cracks in the floor so you can see what everyone’s doing below you and hear all their conversations.”

“Do you visit here often?” Jongdae asked. Maybe this was where Sooyoung hid often if even Sehun hadn’t seen her for a long while.

“Sometimes,” Sooyoung repeated, looking down at the cracks in the floor and away from Jongdae. Below them, Yuri was carrying books in one arm and carefully placing some back on their shelves.

“My father used to come find me here when I was little,” she continued onwards, “That was before he left for the war of course.”

“He’ll come back,” Jongdae said, “Don’t worry.”

“I hope so,” Sooyoung said before smiling, “He’s the best.” From the cracks in the floor, Yuri finished placing all the books and hovered around as if she was trying to remember something.

Jongdae didn’t say anything, briefly remembering how many dark fairies General Choi and his armies had killed.

“Oh!” Yuri shouted, stunning Jongdae and Sooyoung into silence, “Tea with Sooyoung! How could I forget?” Frantically, she flew out of the library towards the parlor rooms.

“ _Oh_ ,” Sooyoung laughed, “I forgot, too.” Giggling, she headed for the ladder to climb down.

“I’ll see you again, Jongdae,” She waved before flying after Yuri.

After Sooyoung left, Jongdae walked around the secret attic, moving beyond the library and walking above the parlor rooms. There he could see Sooyoung and Yuri chatting amiably as they drank their tea. In the next room over, through the cracks from the ceiling Jongdae could see two light fairies gossiping while eating fruit tarts. Jongdae continued to walk above the castle, passing by the kitchens where a cook berated a waiter for dropping a plate. And finally he passed by Yixing’s office. Had he known that this secret passageway existed, he wouldn’t have had to sneak into Yixing’s office all that time ago.

Yixing was speaking to Jessica and Soojung again, and while he smiled, their expressions looked serious.

“This…this sun device. This sun beam,” Jessica said, “Are you sure it works?”

“I told you to trust me and come to a testing,” Yixing insisted, “We’ve been testing for a while now, and it has consistently worked.”

Jongdae knelt to the floor and pressed his ear to the cracks so he could listen more clearly.

“I must say this sounds crude…but if you’ve found a way to kill the dark fairies without the protection of their glitter dust,” Soojung began to say, “Then I must begrudgingly offer you some respect.”

“Only some?” Yixing chuckled, “But I’ll take it.”

A sun device? That could kill dark fairies even with their mica powder on?

“I see we have much to discuss…Perhaps you should come to tea with Soojung and me,” Jessica insisted as she and Soojung walked out of Yixing’s office as Yixing followed.

So with his heart racing, Jongdae leapt out of the secret passageway and ran towards the parlor rooms, hoping to hear more, see more, know more. But when he listened on their conversations, they had ceased talk about the weapon. Jessica and Soojung resumed their eerily nonstop laughing while Yixing seemed to calmly sip his tea and rest quietly. And when Yixing finished his tea, without wishing them farewell, he strode through the doors and headed straight towards the direction of the palace gardens.

Without thinking, Jongdae raced after Yixing.

Without knowing who had just started to quietly follow him.

Without seeing who emerged from the shadows to pick up the small black feathers that fell out of his robes.

 

ϟ

 

If Jongdae thought that he could honestly hide the truth effortlessly during his stay at the light fairy castle, then he was only half-right. Because he easily fooled the attendants, the nobles, even the king himself. But Sehun? Sehun…was observant, spent as much time as possible with Jongdae, and so it was honestly only a matter of time.

“Hey Jongdae,” Sehun carefully asked Jongdae one day soon after as they were walking in the gardens, “Do you have any pets? Like dogs? Cats? _Birds?_ ”

“Well, we can’t exactly take care of them during the war,” Jongdae said. But he briefly thought of all the messenger birds the dark fairies used. Had one come for him lately? “Why? Have you seen some animals around?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Sehun said, still smiling. Jongdae didn’t catch the little shadowy doubt that flickered in his expression before. “I was just wondering.”

“Do you have pets then?” Jongdae asked, bumping his shoulder lightly against Sehun’s. Well. More like bumping his shoulder against Sehun’s arm. He couldn’t help it if he was shorter than Sehun.

“No,” Sehun shook his head, “But my mom used to keep a bird. I set it free after she passed…It reminded me too much of her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jongdae said, “But I’m sure the bird was happy to be free.”

“One day I’ll be free of this place, too,” Sehun nodded, “Whenever you take me out of here.”

“Okay,” Jongdae nodded, but as they continued walking, a stray feather fell out of his robes again. But if Sehun noticed that stray feather this time, too, he said nothing.

But dinnertime was a whole other trial. Everything was going fine, no feathers fell from Jongdae’s pockets, no sunlight attempted to kill him, no black wings poked out of Jongdae’s robes. But of course it had to be this. Of course.

“Jongdae,” Yifan said, horrified as he pointed across the dinner table at him.

“What?” Jongdae said, staring back as he was trying to enjoy the apple pie he was eating.

“You’re on _fire_ ,” Yifan said, standing up as he pointed frantically at Jongdae’s sleeve.

Jongdae turned to look at his sleeve, which seemed to have somehow caught on fire when he was reaching over the candle-lit table.

“Oh. Ow,” Jongdae said, remembering that dark fairies were the only ones impervious to fire, so it probably looked pretty fucking weird he was burning and not panicking. Briefly he remembered how the light fairies who had been burnt alive had shrieked and wildly jumped up when their clothes caught on fire, so Jongdae leapt up and imitated them as he yelled.

Sehun shouted his name in response, wildly knocking over plates from the table as he all but lunged over to grab the pitcher of water before dumping it over Jongdae’s arm. Once the fire was extinguished, Sehun gently grasped Jongdae’s arm to check if he was hurt.

“Are you okay?” Sehun asked, lifting up Jongdae’s sleeve to look for any burn marks. But Jongdae’s skin was unharmed, unburnt. Confused, Sehun touched Jongdae’s skin and examined it closely.

“I thought…you were burnt badly?” Sehun confusedly asked, “Didn’t it hurt?”

“It only burnt my sleeve it seems,” Jongdae said.

“Oh,” Sehun quietly said, a curious expression crossing over his face before it disappeared, “I’m just glad you’re okay then.”

But if he was suspicious about Jongdae, Sehun said nothing and didn’t treat him any less different. And always, he was trying to distract Jongdae by inviting him to not his lessons, not his shadow reading ceremony, but this time some annual sun festival to celebrate the fucking sun of all things.

“Please?” Sehun asked, “It’s going to be the same…Everyone just dancing and being boring. I’d really enjoy myself and everything so much more if you came with me.”

“Why?” Jongdae teasingly asked, “Because you love me?”

“No,” Sehun began to say. Jongdae didn’t know why he caught himself being slightly disappointed because of course Sehun didn’t love him. They had just met after all.

But the next words Sehun said had Jongdae wishing…desperately wishing that if things could not be different, perhaps one day in the future they might be.

“But I could.”

 

ϟ

 

The sun festival was a stunning event that Jongdae only half-regretted attending.

Maybe he should have known better, but it was the _sun_ after all and it was _Sehun_ after all, so what was he to do except go and hope for the best while he clung to the shadows and watched those the light blessed dance around in its light?

The main ballroom had been decorated lavishly for the event, the marble floors shined and polished until the reflections of the fairies that hovered above the floor could be seen, the fresh, blooming flowers carefully arranged to curl around the pillars, and platters and towering plates of food offered around while the glass windows that surrounded the room offered a spectacular view of the glowing sun. Jongdae should have been afraid, but for now, he appreciated the sights from the shadows.

And when he wasn’t socializing with Sooyoung or giving Yuri and Jessica sincere comments on how they looked today when they asked, he was with Sehun. Dancing. Traditional light fairy dances didn’t trade off partners throughout the song like dark fairy dances did. Fairies who attended light fairy dances started with one dance partner and kept the same partner the whole night. And Jongdae was more than fine with that because of course Sehun was his partner. Sehun didn’t even need to ask, didn’t even need to say anything but lightly touch his arm and there Jongdae was, offering his arm as they walked onto the dance floor.

So on they danced, starting from the shadows as the more enthusiastic lords and ladies crowded around the center and twirled around. The violins chuckled out playful pizzicato melodies while other instruments answered in reply. So in a similar way the light fairies danced, and Sehun lead with Jongdae following as he drifted apart from Jongdae, their hands the only parts of themselves held together as the melody grew slower and softer before the snap of the violin’s bows and the fast-paced melody rushed forwards again. Sehun eagerly responded to the quickening of the changed tempo as he pulled Jongdae towards him, catching him into his arms as they twirled together. And every time the melody changed back to the playful, fast-paced melody, Sehun pulled him tighter and tighter again towards him. All these lingering touches, longer looks than usual were leaving Jongdae breathless and wanting to reach out and kiss Sehun right there, but when he was about to lean in and kiss even Sehun’s cheek, the music had shifted and on they drifted apart for a moment while their hands were still clasped together.

But before Jongdae knew it, Sehun had led them away from the shadows and the outskirts of the room and into the light. Fairies who held streamers with glowing suns pushed past them as they laughed, and Jongdae clutched onto Sehun tighter and tighter, feeling suddenly exposed and trapped. Though he tried to lead them away from the crowd and back where it was safe, there was just no way he could push past all these crowds of bodies. It also didn’t help that dresses with little mirrors sewn into the fabric were all the fashion, so Jongdae tried his best to breathe, to breathe, to breathe as all this sunlight started dancing around him.

But this was the closest and longest he had ever experienced the sun’s direct light, and while he should have been interested in the sun like usual, today, he was instead grateful that his long coat covered most of his body and he retreated his hands into his sleeves, as suddenly it felt a bit…stuffy. He began to feel weaker and weaker as time passed.

And so he began panicking…wondering if the reason why it was so hard to breathe was because he was _panicking_ or because he was _dying_ from sun exposure.

Frantically, he could feel himself grab onto Sehun’s shoulders as he tried to remain calm.

“Sehun, I need to go,” Jongdae tried to hoarsely say.

“What?” Sehun said, leaning closer to Jongdae as he tried to listen, “What did you say?”

“Sehun, I need —” Jongdae said, but the rest of the words never stumbled out of his lips.

“Jongdae?” Sehun worriedly asked holding Jongdae upright, as Jongdae grew weaker and weaker in his arms. The music continued to play around him, people continued to dance and swish past them, but they had finally stopped near the sides of the dance floor near the shadows.

“Sehun,” Jongdae said, feeling fainter and fainter but not having the energy to scream or to say that he needed to _go_ to the dark, to the dark, to the dark away from the sun.

“Jongdae?” Sehun asked again.

But Jongdae could not even open his mouth because suddenly the room began spinning, bright colors dancing in his vision. Before his feet gave way the last thought to anyone out there listening he did send, was that please…please let this not be the end.

  

ϟ

 

Jongdae awoke alone in his room nestled comfortably in his bed. It seemed that someone had taken the time to tuck him in and place a damp cloth on his head.

With a jolt, Jongdae sat up, breathing heavily as he recalled the last moments he could remember in his mind. He remembered…so much light…so much sunlight everywhere…reflecting off of gleaming plates, sparkling hairpins, Sehun’s smile…

And then he remembered falling. How long was he unconscious?

But Jongdae breathed faster and faster as he realized…that really could’ve been the end. That really could’ve been the end…He could’ve died right there…exposed to so much light without any cover or protection. Thankfully someone must have rushed him to the shadows or to his bed quickly before he did. But hopefully no one thought anything was wrong with him when he fainted.

With a sigh, Jongdae wished he could somehow use his mica dust. He had kept a small pot with him just in case, but if he were to actually walk around the castle with the glitter staining his skin, he was sure the light fairies wouldn’t even bother to arrest him and just stab him right where he stood for looking so dark fairy-like.

He also wished there could have been a way to see the sun without feeling so afraid of what might happen next. This was the first time he had been afraid.

Suddenly feeling like he needed to find a way to breathe, Jongdae ripped his heavy coat off of his torso and placed them in the corner of his bed as gently as he could so General Choi’s wings wouldn’t be ruined.

Perhaps a bath would make him feel better…

And so Jongdae finally stretched out his own black wings. It had been a long time since he had let them out so freely, and he flapped them a bit to remember what the sensation was like.

After a short bath since he wasn’t sure who might enter, Jongdae wrapped a towel around his lower half and began drying his hair before being distracted by his dressing mirror.

Without hearing, Jongdae was immersed in his reflection and his wings…staring at his black feathers. They were just as beautiful as light fairy wings, he thought. They had their own beauty.

Without smiling, Jongdae looked at them and wished that if they could not be at least bigger and longer like all the other dark fairy’s wings, then could they at least _fly_.

Without realizing, Jongdae turned his head to see Sehun who had silently entered his room holding some flowers that tumbled out of his hand when he saw Jongdae’s real wings.


	2. Chapter 2

Jongdae stood, frozen, unable to do anything in the moment, letting Sehun just stare at him as his mouth dropped open. Sehun’s gaze wandered over the hard defined muscles of his torso and the scars that endless battles had gifted him with. And finally he rested his eyes on his wings, Jongdae’s _wings_.

“Sehun,” Jongdae softly said, taking a step forward and raising his hands to show that he didn’t mean any harm, he wasn’t going to hurt him, he wasn’t going to kill him.

Sehun opened his mouth wider and wider with every step Jongdae took, and suddenly, as soon as Jongdae was just inches away, Sehun began breathing faster and faster before he let a stream of words fall from his mouth.

“You’re one of them…You’re a dark fairy. Jongdae, you’re a dark fairy, a dark fairy, a dark—” Sehun began stammering, his hands shaking as he began speaking louder and louder and louder and as he repeated what Jongdae truly was. As he spoke, he grabbed Jongdae’s shoulders with trembling fingers, but rather than fear or disgust etched on his gaze, there was only shock.

In any other moment if Sehun was holding him like this without the franticness, if Sehun wasn’t suddenly realizing the image that Jongdae had been presenting him was a lie, if Sehun wasn’t about to raise his voice and call for anyone to come, then this would’ve been a lovely chance for Jongdae to hold him back and kiss him. And Jongdae would’ve been a liar if he denied thinking about kissing Sehun. But he had always thought of kissing Sehun sweetly…gently….under the shade of a tree in the garden Sehun spent so much of his time in.

Not like _this_.

Because the way Jongdae grasped Sehun’s shoulders back before leaping forwards to kiss him now was panicked, desperate, ignited not by fierce fondness, but rather fiery fear. And perhaps in some tragic twist of fate, despite it all, here Sehun was, not pushing him away, but grasping him and kissing back with equal burning sentiment. So that was that. Just like that, their fates were damned, doomed, done. Just like that, they were not Jongdae and Sehun, both light fairies, but Jongdae and Sehun, dark and light fairy.

Despite it all, suddenly in this moment Jongdae swore he could finally feel what the sun was like before they broke apart to breathe.

“Jongdae,” Sehun said, his reddened lips pulling down as he breathed fast and hard, “You lied to me.”

“I had a good reason to,” Jongdae slowly said so Sehun wouldn’t be alarmed even further, “Light fairies and dark fairies aren’t exactly on speaking terms with the war and all. But I can explain…I can explain if you’ll le—”

“But no…No you can’t be…You’re lying to me again, aren’t you? Dark fairies can’t stand the sun. Oh god no wonder you were asking me about the sun. They can’t feel the heat until it’s too late. Until they die. Until they die. Oh god you were about to die earlier, right? At the festival? You lied to me…But why didn’t you die instantly like we’ve been taught?” Sehun said, panicking again, looking around the room wildly as if he was searching for guards to come to his aid. But even now he did not let go of Jongdae.

“No, Sehun…It’s true, it’s _true_. Dark fairies can’t be exposed to the sun or they perish instantly,” Jongdae said, trying to speak with the same desperate urgency he felt.

“Then what are you? Something in between? Please don’t lie again,” Sehun said, his chest heaving again from the panic.

“I’m not lying to you. Trust me,” Jongdae insisted.

“Then _answer_ truthfully,” Sehun shouted. Suddenly he wasn’t so much a disinterested prince who ditched his lessons to go heal flowers but a proper royal commanding authority.

“I’m half dark fairy,” Jongdae said, gently prying Sehun’s hands off of his shoulders to step back from him, “That’s why my wings are shorter than everyone else’s. That’s why I can’t fly.”

And slowly, without trying to alarm him further, Jongdae dropped his hands and spread his wings. Bitterly, he wished some of the dark fairies would look at his wings the way Sehun did. Because there was no disgust like he had been used to, no contempt, no pity, but rather just curiosity in Sehun’s gaze. And something else.

“And the rest of you?” Sehun said, taking another step forward before his hands found Jongdae’s shoulders again. Maybe if he grasped Jongdae’s shoulders hard enough and stared at him long enough, he would not lie, would not leave.

Jongdae paused a moment and said what had always been used against him.

“Human,” Jongdae said, his wings collapsing at the word and folding back onto his back, crushed by the weight of his reality.

Sehun’s eyes widened, and he looked at Jongdae again in a new light, and the curiosity that had been sparked grew until it danced on his countenance and echoed out of his words.

“Human?” Sehun timidly asked, “I’ve been with a human this whole time and you didn’t even tell me?”

“How could I have?” Jongdae said, “And really…I’m not that connected with my human side. I know nothing about my humanity.”

For a while, Sehun didn’t say anything but just gazed at Jongdae. In times like this, there wasn’t anything Jongdae could perhaps say…but he still hoped that Sehun would understand. Jongdae insisted that he was the same…the same regardless of what wings he had on his back, and that he would die before he hurt him. Sehun studied him for a second before falling to the floor, overwhelmed with these exposed secrets. Jongdae followed and sat, the two of them sitting side by side in silence. And in this time, never once did Jongdae think of running away in case Sehun decided to have the guards arrest him, and never once did Sehun think of leaving Jongdae or exposing him to the court for who he was. After a while long after the sun had fallen from the sky, Sehun finally spoke.

“I guess you can talk about this now…or later if you want. I’m a good listener,” Sehun softly said, turning to look at Jongdae and his wings, his dark, feathery wings.

“You’re not mad?” Jongdae asked, abruptly looking up from the floor in hope and to Sehun and his wings, his glowing, yellow wings, “You’re not going to haul me off to be executed?”

“I was,” Sehun corrected, “But I guess you did have a good reason to hide…being a dark fairy after all. If it was anyone else but me, you would’ve died instantly.”

“Then why didn’t you give me up? It would’ve been easier on you if you just told everyone that a dark fairy was here,” Jongdae said, unable to process Sehun’s compassionate understanding. This was what a king should be like. This was what Kyungsoo should have been like. This was what he hoped the future king of light fairies should be like.

“What was I supposed to do when you kissed me then?” Sehun protested, “Especially when I wanted to kiss you first? You can’t just hide your identity from me like that _and_ do what I’ve been wanting to do for so long.”

“You did?” Jongdae said, and soon the doubt was extinguished within him as a flicker of hope and something else ignited to take its place.

“I still do,” Sehun said, his cheeks still flushed, “I don’t mind what you are. I’m not my father or the others. It would have been nice if you told me earlier, but I understand. I liked you when I thought you were a light fairy, and I still like you when you’re not. Just don’t lie again.”

Jongdae promised that would be the only lie he would tell him, and for the rest of their time together, he would keep that promise.

“But haven’t you been taught to hate dark fairies? I don’t understand,” Jongdae spoke again. But when he thought of dark fairies and how he himself had been raised, none of them grew up with a hatred for light fairies pounded through their head. Hatred was learned on the battlefield, when too many light fairies killed too many friends, when too many light fairies spared no dark fairies even when there was sun, when too many light fairies insisted on marching out to meet them in those useless battles. Because they were just taught in lessons how to survive, how to live the longest possible, how to not die in battle.

“The only thing I’ve retained in my lessons is that the war is too long and that it is not anyone’s fault anymore that it started, but rather everyone’s for extending it for so long,” said Sehun, who had not seen any battles, any violence, any dark fairies until now. “But what about you? Shouldn’t you hate light fairies, too?”

“I just hate that some of them have killed people I knew I loved, but it’s mostly this war, you know,” Jongdae admitted, “But maybe we would’ve never met if the war didn’t happen.”

“I guess the war’s good for this one thing then,” Sehun said, smiling at last, “Is that bad to say? It’s probably bad to say, but I feel that.”

Jongdae didn’t have anything he could say in that moment so he just stood, walking towards his bed before sitting down and ignoring General Choi’s green wings that still lightly fluttered in the corner. Not even seconds later, the place next to him dipped to hold Sehun’s weight.

Look at these fairies, one light and one dark.

Together sitting in silence and thought.

“How did I get to my room? Did anyone else see or…know….or figure this out?” Jongdae asked, hugging his knees and absent-mindedly flapping his wings. It had been a while since he could comfortably stretch them out like this.

“I carried you back. Everyone’s still at the celebration,” Sehun said, not taking his eyes off of Jongdae’s black wings…so different from his own softly glowing, translucent yellow ones.

“Oh,” Jongdae said, “Could you feel my wings through my clothes? My real ones?”

“Jongdae, that was the least of my thoughts. I was just worried, so how could I have noticed anything out of the ordinary with your wings?” Sehun said.

Jongdae nodded, satisfied with Sehun’s answer, but still hoped no one else noticed. Especially Yixing.

“Can I?” Sehun asked, slowly reaching out a hand towards Jongdae’s wings. Jongdae nodded and felt strangely calm when Sehun stroked his feathers.

“What do you want here, Jongdae? What do you really want here…so far away from your people?” Sehun asked as he continued to gently run his fingers over Jongdae’s feathers, completely awestruck with what he saw, what he touched, what he felt.

“I didn’t lie to you about that if that’s what you’re thinking. But General Choi really did send me here to investigate. We captured him after a battle, and in exchange for his life and to bring Sooyoung to him, he offered information to save the dark fairies,” Jongdae said.

“From what?” Sehun asked.

“He said that a weapon of mass destruction was being built to end the dark fairies and the war,” Jongdae said.

“Did you find anything?” Sehun said, turning towards Jongdae alarmed.

“They’re harnessing the power of the sun to use as a sort of death beam that could kill dark fairies instantly even without the protection of their mica dust. It’s hidden somewhere under the gardens. That’s why I need to find the hidden passageway and destroy whatever it is,” Jongdae explained

“That’s genocide,” Sehun said, shocked once again, “My father wouldn’t order something like that.”

“I don’t know if that was his order or not, but Yixing’s responsible for this, and I need to destroy it and the blueprints before it’s too late,” Jongdae said.

“I’ll help,” Sehun said, looking determined as he rested a hand firmly on Jongdae’s back, “I don’t want the light fairies to be marked as mass murderers any more than they already are. I want everyone to survive.”

“Okay. Then help me,” Jongdae said, “Please.”

But the two of them didn’t do anything else that day, preferring to stay in Jongdae’s room. Sehun quickly became very acquainted with Jongdae’s wings from all the time he spent gently stroking them. And Jongdae quickly became very acquainted with how surreal this all still seemed and how much he didn’t want this to end.

Sehun continued to ask a lot of questions about dark fairies, and Jongdae did his best to answer that yes, dark fairies really used mica glitter to protect themselves from the sun, yes, dark fairies could communicate with birds, yes, dark fairies couldn’t feel what heat felt like, and yes, full-blooded dark fairies really did instantly die without any protection under the sun.

“I could burn up and die right now if I moved into direct sunlight. I was lucky the other time was just reflections,” Jongdae said.

“Even though you’re half human?” Sehun said.

“Yeah…I think it’d take longer for that to happen, but I don’t want to find out how long I have,” Jongdae said, “But I haven’t been able to use the mica dust because of what people might conclude.”

Sehun looked thoughtful and his wings brightened and shimmered more vibrantly ask he spoke.

“Do you still have it with you? I have a plan,” Sehun excitedly said.

 

ϟ

 

Sehun’s brilliant plan was showing up to breakfast late the next day covered in shimmering glitter and taking his time to fly to his seat so by the time he actually sat, not a single noble was not staring at him in awe. Jongdae’s mouth dropped open again because Sehun not only looked so radiantly _beautiful_ but also that it was an ingenious plan…because by lunch half of the nobles were wearing glitter, and by dinner they were judging anyone who wasn’t.

“Ah, Jongdae…Why aren’t you wearing glitter yet? It’s all the latest style,” Sehun said after dinner when they were alone once again.

“You know I don’t have to wear it at nighttime. The moon protects me then,” Jongdae said, turning his head to look at Sehun who glowed under the moon’s light.

“Hush…This is going to be hard to take off later,” Sehun said, taking a moment to look at his glittery hands.

“It’s for fashion, darling,” Jongdae drawled, imitating one of the nobles. Sehun couldn’t help but grin at the nickname.

But nevertheless, thanks to Sehun, Jongdae could now safely go out during the day without worrying that he was going to fucking _die_ if he stepped out of the shadows for a moment or longer.

Though as the glitter became more of a symbol of high fashion and trends rather than protection, it became…evident that it was so easy to be caught up in the glamor and indulgent distractions the light fairy castle offered. The nobles were already all like that, always drinking to forget the war, playing games to forget the war, eating, dancing, laughing to forget the war and what happened outside this castle. As Jongdae was around them so much, he was scared for moments that he, too, was going to forget the war and his mission.

But whenever he visited the kitchens to listen in in case there was any new news, he easily remembered, as the cooks often whispered of which soldiers had not returned home yet, which young fairies were worried they would be next to enlist, which mothers had their wings cut off to save their mortally wounded children.

Sehun, now used to following Jongdae everywhere, would wait around with him, but when he first heard such things…he was _stunned_ because he had never heard of the war like this before. Jongdae would look at Sehun’s slightly open mouth, his furrowed brows, his concern, and there wasn’t even anything he could say to make him feel better because these weren’t lies. So this time he took Sehun’s hand and held it as they continued listening to those sad stories, those weary words, those mournful remembrances.

“Ah…did you know the light fairies are preparing for a secret strike? They found an abandoned tunnel that apparently leads to one of the dark fairy’s major camps. Their king’s supposed to be there…They’re about to wipe out their main offensive troop,” the chef said as she continued chopping onions.

_Wipe out their main offensive troop?_

Without hesitating any longer, Jongdae didn’t think of the consequences and ran straight to his room with Sehun flying after him. He had to warn them, he had to warn them, he had to _warn them_. Jongdae should not get involved. They told him not to get involved and do anything except investigate this. But how could he stand back and watch when he just heard the light fairies were planning to ambush them?

He flung open the balcony doors of his room and hailed down a raven with a few whistles and sent a coded message to Minseok. Satisfied, Jongdae let the bird fly off as fast as it could before he walked back inside. Hopefully it would reach them in time.

Sehun didn’t speak until they were both sitting on Jongdae’s bed side by side…staring up at the ceiling while the tips of their wings touched. There wasn’t anything he could say anyways. Jongdae’s message would save his people but kill Sehun’s.

“How do you even deal with the war? I would be so afraid of everyone I loved and knew not coming back one day,” Sehun said at last.

“I think I just expect it. Maybe it’s easier to mentally prepare yourself if you go to battle believing that everyone you love won’t come back,” Jongdae said. It was always not a question of if…but _when_ he would lose the people he loved. He expected every day to hear that someone he knew died, and oftentimes he would be surprised if he didn’t hear that news actually.

But with Sehun, suddenly Jongdae realized he didn’t want to think like that anymore, didn’t want to anticipate any possible deaths, and rather wanted to focus on never letting something like that happen ever.

“Can you just stay here with me then?” Sehun asked, “I don’t want you to go back and I’ll be stuck here praying that wouldn’t be the last time I’ll ever see you. Or let’s leave everything and go somewhere far away from all of this.”

“Sehun,” Jongdae softly said, and this time he reached for Sehun’s arm, “I’m still a soldier…and I have to go back one day after I figure out and stop whatever’s going on.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Sehun promised, but before Jongdae could say _no_ or _absolutely not_ or even _fuck no, I won’t let you endanger yourself uselessly_ , he had already asked a different question. “Is it harder to fight against everyone if you’re half human?”

“When dark fairies turn seven,” Jongdae said instead, “They’re lead to the top of the mountains…and pushed off. Those that come back are strong enough to stay and fly with the rest of the dark fairies. Those that don’t die.”

“Did you fly then?” Sehun asked even though he knew Jongdae’s small wings could never fly…had never been able to support Jongdae and fly.

Jongdae paused, closing his eyes as he remembered how strangely calm he was as he walked up the mountain path when he was seven, Baekhyun and Minseok tearfully clinging to him. They both had thought it would be the last time they would see Jongdae. He had to be brave though…brave like his armor-clad mother told him to be as she led the way to the top. And at the top, he still was not afraid.

But he was afraid when someone pushed him off the mountain and he felt his arms grasping for nothing as the ground rushed towards him, he felt his wings…his useless wings flapping desperately as they failed to carry him above…his wild heart beating wildly as he plummeted towards the ground, towards death. Ironically he had never felt so alive in his seven years of living until this moment.

But he remembered the way he fought to spread his wings and to use the momentum to glide upwards until he miraculously caught onto a tree branch with a tiny hand. For a while he hung on the branch, not willing to find out what would happen if he let go, so finding some sort of strength he did not know he had, pulled himself over and onto the branch. Here he was, seven, perched on the tree, wondering if he should run away right now. If he couldn’t fly, he wasn’t a dark fairy. But he didn’t even know where the humans lived, so he stayed. And as he looked at the looming mountain in the distance, he thought of his mother, Baekhyun, Minseok….and so he took his time to slither down the tree and climb his way back up the mountain even after everyone thought he died. He had people to survive for. He would survive.

_This does not count. He should have died, so he should be treated as if he was dead. He’s not even a real dark fairy_ a captain taunted after hiding his shock when he saw tiny arms hoist themselves over the cliff’s edge three days later.

_But he is here, he is mine, and he is alive_ his mother, the general, had breathlessly said, pulling a small, silent, shaking Jongdae in her arms.

“No,” Jongdae said at last, opening his eyes before turning towards Sehun. The light of the lamps behind Sehun’s head cast a radiant glow over him, and even now Jongdae would not look away even though it was so bright.

“I survived.”

 

ϟ

 

“Is this the end of the story?” someone asked.

“You just gave away your answer,” someone else said.

“Thanks for letting us drink!” someone else slurred excitedly.

_Free drinks! Free drinks! Free drinks!_

“That can’t be the end, right?” Jongin asked after he was torn from the rhythm of the story, “What happened to the weapon they were looking for? Did it really exist? Did they really find it?”

The hooded stranger sighed and held his tankard between his hands.

“I was _getting_ to that part,” he said, “Before all of you interrupted me.”

“Well, we wouldn’t _have_ to if you just hurried up the story. Can’t you just skip to the end and say what you mean? Stop with all these filler scenes,” someone else yelled.

“ _Yeah_ ,” someone else agreed, “This story is so long…before you finish it’ll be dawn.”

“Hey…I want to hear how the story ends, so let’s just let him finish,” Jongin said, attempting to quiet down the crowd.

With a chuckle, the stranger waited until it was silent again before he continued speaking.

 

ϟ

 

Jongdae and Sehun soon found that the one time when they weren’t looking for the secret passageway was the time when they finally found it.

They were just walking…enjoying a stroll in the gardens after giving up their search for the day. There were so many mazes to look through, hedges to check behind, and fountains to examine. So after a while, they found themselves under the shade of a giant tree with glittering apples.

“Does this tree have any meaning?” Jongdae said as he gazed up at the tree in awe.

“This is our royal family tree,” Sehun said, standing up to show Jongdae.

“The golden apples are everyone who’s still alive,” he said before pointing to a golden apple directly above Jongdae’s head, “That one’s mine.”

“No wonder it’s the prettiest,” Jongdae said.

“ _Anyways_ ,” Sehun laughed, “They turn to diamond when they die.”

“What happened there?” Jongdae pointed to a stub of a branch that seemingly had been burnt.

“Ah…someone left the family and the court…Either by their own will, exile, or banishment. Or execution,” Sehun said, “It’s kind of harsh to erase them like that.”

“At least they have something to remember them by,” Jongdae said, trying not to sound bitter as he stared at the burnt stub, “I think even that would be nice since no one would forget you then.”

As half human, Jongdae would never be remembered in the archives of dark fairy history. He had grown up well used to this fact and watched as his mother was written about in their scroll archives, as Kyungsoo, Sunyoung, Minseok, and Baekhyun were too…But never him.

“Don’t worry, Jongdae,” Sehun smiled brightly, “I’ll remember you always, and I’ll make sure everyone else does, too.”

Jongdae couldn’t say anything…couldn’t express the wave of oncoming gratitude that crashed on him…couldn’t look away from Sehun’s smiling face, couldn’t feel anything except fond, fierce affection as he watched the shining light that danced among the jeweled apples reflect around Sehun like some sort of a glowing crown.

And so he just stood on the very tips of his toes to press a sweet kiss to Sehun’s lips.

His first kiss with Sehun was crackling with tension, initiated half out of desperation, half out of an explosion of feelings that had been overwhelmingly accumulating within hum.

But this kiss…this kiss with Sehun? Jongdae didn’t know if it was fucking daytime, nighttime, or whatever because time had completely stopped for him as he took his time to memorize how soft Sehun’s lips felt…how wonderfully he breathed…how tightly Sehun held him. And if this overwhelming sensation that struck his body and seared through his chest felt anything at all like the sun’s heat, then Jongdae was no longer afraid to face the sun one day again if he was to die that way.

“Hey,” Sehun softly said after they broke apart to breathe, to breathe, to _breathe_. “Not fair. I wanted to kiss you first again…”

“Then kiss me first next time,” Jongdae said, very aware of how close their bodies were pressed as Sehun had his arms around Jongdae’s shirt to pull him closer.

“Fine,” Sehun said, and this time, he quickly grabbed Jongdae’s shoulders to gently not so gently press him to the trunk of the tree. But before he could lean in and kiss him first like he wanted, Jongdae had accidentally pressed something on the tree’s bark and caused a hole to open up from the ground under them revealing stairs.

Sehun swore and fluttered his wings to hover in the air before he could fall.

“You okay?” he asked Jongdae, holding him up so he would not fall either.

“We found it, Sehun,” Jongdae said, grabbing Sehun tightly as they hovered in the air, “The passageway under the garden.”

Without another word, Sehun lightly placed Jongdae on the top stair before they began walking into the darkness. After they walked down about three stairs, the door above slammed shut, plunging them in darkness.

Jongdae felt Sehun tightly grab onto his shoulders.

“Scared for real?” Jongdae chuckled, but let Sehun hold on, “It’ll be fine. Promise.”

And as soon as he spoke, a row of flickering, hovering lights turned on, illuminating the dark corridor that lead to who knew where.

“What do you think’s down there? Monsters?” Sehun asked, his grip on Jongdae growing tighter and tighter. “I don’t want to die here, Jongdae.”

“Hey…You’re with me,” Jongdae said, turning around again to reassure Sehun that he was fine, he would be fine, nothing would happen because he was here with him, “And if I, your family’s biggest enemy, haven’t killed you yet, then no one will. I won’t let them.”

Sehun relaxed, but still looked concerned as he looked ahead at the tunnel.

“Here…” Jongdae said, reaching into his belt to pull out his engraved dagger. He had received it as a gift during his military initiation from his mother, but perhaps Sehun would find it more comforting to him now in this moment since he had plenty of other weapons around anyways, “Do you know how to use it?”

“Yes,” Sehun said, “I have lessons sometimes, but I’m not allowed to take any weapons with me after I leave the arena. Yifan’s better at me at fighting though.”

“Then keep it,” Jongdae said, folding Sehun’s fingers into the ruby-studded hilt. He had always been afraid of losing that dagger in the battlefield somewhere, so at least if Sehun kept it, he would know it would be safe with him. “Hopefully you’ll feel safer with it, and you never know when you might need it.”

They crept around the long hallway until it opened up to a big chamber with high ceilings that had a large circular hole in the top. The sky was exposed in the missing part of the ceiling, and the outside light violently shone through.

“Now where do you think we are?” Jongdae said, “Don’t you think we would’ve noticed a hole in the ground like that?”

“I don’t know…” Sehun said, but his attention quickly shifted towards the statue under the hole, “This can’t be the weapon, right?”

“It’s just a statue,” Jongdae said as they walked closer to examine it. But it was eerie…the way it looked almost as if it was a real person. It was a girl with motionless wings and short hair covering her face and cowering from something…but from _what_?

Jongdae tore his eyes away from the statue and turned to look around the tables.

“Could these be it?” he said, looking at the rows and rows of circular shields piled up.

“They don’t look that dangerous,” Sehun said as he traced a finger over the silver shields. In the dim lighting, they could have been gleaming moonlight for all he knew.

But soon, footsteps and conversation echoed through the tunnel, causing Jongdae to dive into the shadows of a corner and Sehun to quickly crawl under a table and hope for the best.

“Well, well, well, Yixing,” a voice said, “Your weapons of mass destruction are disguised as defense mechanisms. Clever.”

“What can I say, Soojung” Yixing said, “If anyone like you ever report me to the king then I can always just plead that they’re shields. Who would expect shields to have such damning power?”

Jongdae pressed himself against the shadows, hoping he wouldn’t be seen. He looked across the room to find Sehun, and despite the darkness, he could make out Sehun’s chest rising up and down. It was a good thing the other fairies were too absorbed in their shields to see them.

“Shall we test them?” Yixing said, snapping his fingers as two guards pushed a struggling dark fairy to the room.

“Yixing, isn’t this…a little too cruel?” Jessica asked, eyeing the struggling fairy, not exactly with pity, but not exactly with indifference either. Jongdae clenched his fists together as he fought to control the pounding in his heart and the rage that threatened to take over.

“But whatever will end the war, right?” Yixing serenely said before grabbing a shield and stepping into the middle of the circle. Sunlight immediately began reflecting off of the shield, but Yixing steadily held the shield up towards the sun.

“It’s not doing anything,” Soojung said across the room from the safe outskirts of the circle.

“It’s harnessing the power of the sun,” Yixing said, “Just wait.”

Yixing calmly held the shield as the only sound that filled the room was the dark fairy’s screaming. And without any warning, he pointed the shield at the dark fairy, causing a bright beam of pure sunlight to strike the dark fairy who immediately crumpled to the floor.

Jongdae took a deep breath and attempted to forget the echoes of the last screams and looked across the room to see Sehun breathing rapidly, eyes wide with shock. Jongdae silently pleaded with him… _stay quiet_ he thought as he placed a finger over his mouth. Sehun wildly nodded before placing a finger over his lips before giving up and pressing his hands to his mouth.

“It can penetrate even their glitter,” Yixing proudly said, not even bothering to look at the perished dark fairy.

“You mean like the powder you’re wearing?” Jessica said.

“Yes…Prince Sehun has decided to make glitter all the fashion’s rage now. In a way, it has been helpful so no one will suspect how much I’ve been experimenting with dark fairies.”

“I’m not even going to ask where you got them,” Soojung said, “But what are your plans now that testing is done?”

“We’re going to send them out with the next shipment of supplies. They were supposed to go to General Choi’s troops, but most are dead, and he’s missing,” Yixing said, “So we’ll send them to—”

“No, no…never mind. I don’t want to hear this,” Soojung interrupted, rubbing her face with her hands before sighing, “Just…do what you have to do. End this war.”

“You have my word,” Yixing smiled, inclining his head before carefully placing the shields on the table, “So if all is set, I’ll begin mass production with the metals we raided from dark fairy mines.”

“Using their own resources to kill them,” Jessica exasperatedly said, “You’re heartless, Yixing.”

“Not at all,” Yixing laughed, “I have a heart just like everyone else. A heart that wants to beat as long as it can, so don’t be too shocked I’m doing this. I just want to survive as long as possible.”

The words sounded familiar, but the cruelty that shined through did not.

But luckily before anyone noticed Jongdae or Sehun, Yixing, Jessica, Soojung, and the two guards exited the tunnels the same way they came. When everything fell silent again, Jongdae and Sehun emerged from the shadows. Sehun immediately took a faltering step towards the circle, towards the dead dark fairy.

“Oh my god,” Sehun said, taking another step and another and another, only stopping only when he was close enough to see the stillness of the body, the last echoes of pain etched on his face, the stiffness of everything.

“Don’t look,” Jongdae said, tugging Sehun’s sleeve away.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Sehun softly said, pressing his hands to his face as he tried to breathe.

“Don’t look,” Jongdae insisted, pulling Sehun away from the body.

“Jongdae,” Sehun incredulously said, fighting down hysteria as he turned his head to take another look, “He’s dead.”

“Sehun, don’t look,” Jongdae said, gently turning Sehun back again. “ _Please_.”

“We have…we have to destroy the shields,” Sehun breathed, “I can’t…I don’t want…”

“We will,” Jongdae nodded, eyeing the engraved shields warily. Sehun moved to grab the shield Yixing used, but as he touched the center, he drew his hand back quickly.

“It’s still hot,” Sehun said, holding his hand, “burning hot.”

Jongdae pressed a kiss to Sehun’s hand before lifting up the shield effortlessly. But what could he do? He had no materials or fires hot enough to melt down the shield, and as he soon found out, smashing it against the ground did nothing.

“Let’s destroy this place then,” Sehun said, though regretfully looked towards the statue of the girl.

As a dark fairy, Jongdae was well acquainted with tunnels, as the majority of dark fairy communities lived within tunnels in mountains. Kyungsoo’s own castle in the mountains had thousands of tunnels connecting the different rooms within it. So naturally he knew exactly what would and would not collapse a tunnel.

Light fairies were paranoid creatures with fragile infrastructure since they had no idea how to build tunnels, so obviously the only answer was destroying the pillars that held the ceiling up. So Jongdae made sure Sehun stayed on the other side of the room, towards the unknown with no guarantee that there was an exit on the other side while he weakened the pillars enough so that they wouldn’t collapse immediately, but would crumble with the right force.

And standing back while making sure Sehun was safely behind him, Jongdae struck the weakened base of one of the pillars as hard as he could with the shield and watched as the pillar broke apart and crashed into the pillar beside it. Within moments, the pillars had all crashed upon each other in a destructive chain reaction, but unlike dark fairy tunnels that were designed to hold up with or without pillars, these light fairy tunnels were weaker, so whatever remained of the ceiling fell upon the broken pillars. Within moments, the path towards the first exit was impeded by debris, rubble, and stone rocks.

“Well,” Sehun said as a mountain of rocks covered their path to the exit, “I sure hope there’s a way out on the other side of the tunnels.”

“If there is not, then I will make us an exit,” Jongdae said, already walking towards the darkness. The torches grew sparser and sparser, but before it grew pitch dark, soon they stumbled upon another dark fairy with…burn marks dotting his skin, though it was clear that fire alone did not and could not make those marks.

“Oh,” Sehun softly said again.

“Don’t look,” Jongdae said, marching onwards towards hopefully the second exit.

Sehun looked.

“Come on, Sehun,” Jongdae said, beckoning Sehun to come. But Sehun leaned down with mournful, wide eyes to take a better look at the dark fairy.

“Let’s go,” Jongdae said, but before he could take a step further, the ceiling collapsed right in front of their path, and soon after the dust cleared, large rocks had fallen in front of them.

“Well,” Sehun said as another mountain of rocks covered their path, “I sure hope that—”

But before he could finish speaking, Jongdae already moved over to the rocks and began prying a few away to make an exit. Within moments, he had managed to push enough rocks over so that a small hole that they could slither through appeared. He climbed through first to test its safety, and luckily he was able to fit through the hole and safely emerge on the other side. Pleased, Jongdae reached out a hand and placed it through the hole.

“Let’s go, Sehun,” he called, feeling relieved when he felt a hand clasp his. Jongdae was prepared to help Sehun through the hole before a splitting scream echoed throughout the tunnel.

“ _You_ ,” someone cried out. Jongdae alarmingly looked into the hole, and under the glow of Sehun’s wings, he could see the dark fairy they had wrongly assumed was dead lunge towards Sehun with wild eyes.

“ _You_ ,” the dark fairy snarled again as he grabbed Sehun’s thin wings, causing him to shout out in distress, “You did this to me! You did this to my people! I’ll kill you, _too_.”

And Jongdae could only watch in wordless horror as the dark fairy grabbed Sehun, pulling him back into the tunnel, their hands ripped from each other, the momentum causing the rocks to tumble up and close the hole. Jongdae tried to breathe, to be calm in this moment even though he could hear the dark fairy continue to screech profanities and curses upon the light fairies as Sehun screamed in response.

“Sehun you have your dagger! Defend yourself,” Jongdae called through the rocks, trying to stay calm as he ran through his options.

“But Jongdae, I—” Sehun yelled from the other side.

“Kill him,” Jongdae shouted into the cracks of the rocks, his heart hammering. The severity of his words did not register to him in this moment.

“Jongdae, I _can’t_ ,” Sehun screamed.

But Jongdae could.

And Jongdae would for Sehun.

So there he was, frantically lifting and pushing aside the rocks in order to make room to force himself through and tumble out the other side. And even though this was a dark fairy, even though he was a dark fairy, this was Sehun. This was Sehun scared, knocked to the floor while the dark fairy wrapped his hands around his throat and strangled him. So this was Jongdae leaping forwards to swiftly kill him. Killing was reflexive on the battlefield, and though this was no battlefield, saving Sehun was equally instinctive.

Jongdae did not feel a twinge of guilt, but rather of sorrow as he gently pushed aside the dark fairy’s body before making sure Sehun was okay.

“Use this next time,” Jongdae said, glancing at the unused dagger. In this moment he wanted nothing more than to pull Sehun into his arms, but he restrained himself because his hands were bloody.

But Sehun obviously didn’t care because he launched himself into Jongdae’s bloodstained body and hugged him. It seemed that Sehun was unable to kill or even injure at the very least when his life was endangered, but luckily for him, Jongdae was more than able.

“I…I don’t know if I can be with you all of the time,” Jongdae began to say, and as he hugged Sehun tighter and tighter, blood continued to smudge all over the back of Sehun’s robes, “So I need you…to be safe. You have a dagger. You have—”

“I have you,” Sehun said, trembling slightly as he breathed, “So what are you talking about? My place is with you. I will go where you go.”

 

ϟ

 

Sehun was quiet the next day.

Jongdae realized that that must have been the first time Sehun had been attacked, had seen Jongdae attack someone, and had seen two fairies murdered in less than an hour. But Sehun still wasn’t scared of him, so Jongdae had no reason to worry that Sehun would leave him after he saw him kill. On the contrary, Sehun now grabbed Jongdae’s hand so tightly as if he was afraid Jongdae would leave him any moment even though he was still here, always still here.

“I keep remembering…those two dark fairies,” Sehun lowly said, looking up at Jongdae with panicked eyes after Jongdae asked him if he was alright. “I want to forget them…forget what happened because that was—”

“Okay,” Jongdae nodded. Those two nameless dark fairies would be forgotten anyways…There would be no one like Irene to write down their names among their dead. Only their families would remember them now, if they had families, if their families were still alive.

So Jongdae talked instead.

Jongdae talked and talked and talked of everything that came to his mind…of how he wondered what the chef was cooking tonight for dinner because he was hungry and he was sure Sehun was hungry too, of how Sooyoung showed him secret passageways he would show Sehun later, of how Yuri had accidentally shelved a whole stack of book wrongly so the librarian had sternly reprimanded her one afternoon.

And how humans were just like fairies without any wings.

Sehun had perked up at that talk, leaning on Jongdae’s shoulder as he quietly listened.

“Humans…” Jongdae said, “I think we’re more alike to them than we think, you know?”

“Did you ever know your father? Your human father?” Sehun asked, looking up.

“No,” Jongdae shook his head, “They couldn’t banish my mother since she was their best general, so they just made her quietly leave him before I was born.” And since then, it had always been just Jongdae and his mother. And after she died it was just Jongdae. Then just Jongdae and Minseok and Baekhyun. And now Jongdae and Sehun.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun said.

“Don’t be,” Jongdae said, “Maybe it’s better he didn’t have to be involved with the war you know?”

“Did your mother ever sneak back to meet him?” Sehun asked, “It must’ve been hard for them to be apart if they loved each other.”

“No,” Jongdae said, “She couldn’t go back because she was a general, and she died a few years ago before she could even try.” It was a simple battle that had killed her. Of all the battles to take her out, it wasn’t even a hard one. Jongdae was used to going to battles expecting that his family and friends would die after it finished. But it didn’t mean it hurt any less when it actually happened.

It didn’t mean it hurt any less when he had walked back to their campsite to find his mother laying among the dead. Back then, for a moment, Jongdae tried to think she was sleeping, just sleeping. But after he looked at all the arrows protruding from her body and all the wounds and blood covering her, he knew that it could not be.

That day he remembered not crying when he reached the mountain, the same mountain where she had pulled him into her arms when he was seven and shaking and surviving. He remembered not crying as he sat at the edge of the cliff and let his feet dangle down as he remembered her taking care of him even when she had so military duties, even when it would’ve been easier to abandon her cursed, half-human child. He remembered her telling him stories of how she carried him with one arm and carried a sword in the other when she lead military drills. And he remembered not crying as he stood with shaky legs at the edge of the mountain as he remembered that she was gone.

But he remembered crying when he finally jumped off the cliff, not even bothering to spread his wings, his useless wings that she passed onto him, out as he plummeted down, the sights of the rapidly approaching ground blurring through his tears as he screamed. No one was there to hear him. No one was there to see him. No one was there to catch him, so at the absolute last moment possible, Jongdae spread out his wings and forced himself to glide to safety as he survived.

It was what his mother would have wished.

“My mother died a few years ago, too,” Sehun said in a small voice, “From a cold. It was just a bad cold, a bad flu…and I don’t know why, but she couldn’t fight it off. She just kept getting worse…and worse…and worse…until one day she wasn’t there anymore.”

Jongdae listened as Sehun told him how she was the one who liked to tell him stories about humans, who secretly gave him sweets before bedtime even though it was late and he was already supposed to be asleep, who loved him enough to live long enough to say good-bye when the time came.

“We buried her shortly afterwards,” Sehun said, “Light fairy funerals have to be quick, you know…because after light fairies die, their wings sprout into forests. That’s why we have to bury our dead in tight coffins. My mother was buried in a crystal one. You could see her a little through the casket.”

“We burn our dead,” Jongdae said leaning back, “Except it takes longer to burn because we’re mostly impervious to fire.”

“I guess that’s why you didn’t seem too bothered that your whole sleeve was on fire the other time,” Sehun laughed, “A dark fairy…you’re a dark fairy.”

“Not even a whole one,” Jongdae chuckled.

“You’re still Jongdae. Maybe you’re different bits of dark fairy and different bits of human, but you’re still Jongdae. You’re still whole,” Sehun said. Jongdae didn’t know what to say until Sehun’s stomach growled.

“Are you hungry?” Jongdae asked, grateful for a distraction. Sehun made no move to emerge from the covers of the bed, so he sat up. “Let me get you something to eat.”

“Let’s eat apples,” Sehun said, smiling at Jongdae.

“No, pick something _you_ want to eat, Sehun,” Jongdae said, “Not something you think I’d like.”

“But I do like apples, too,” Sehun said.

“I’ll just bring whatever fruit the kitchen has, alright?” Jongdae said, reaching over to tousle Sehun’s head. “Rest while I’m gone.”

Sehun nodded and closed his eyes, leaning back into the covers. Jongdae hovered for a moment, looking fondly at Sehun for a moment…another moment…and another moment before he finally tore his gaze away and headed towards the kitchens.

After picking up a basket of fruit, Jongdae started to head back to his room, only to stop in his tracks as he heard voices ahead.

“The tunnels have been destroyed…We’ll have to start remaking the shields again, but I’ll send someone to investigate,” a fairy gravely said to Yixing.

“You have the blueprints, right?” the fairy asked before speaking again when Yixing said nothing in return, “All the shields have been lost. We’ll have to begin production again.”

“No, they were lost in the tunnel,” Yixing said.

The fairy swore, raising a hand to his head, “This was a bad idea from the beginning. It was a mistake to agree to this…this _madness_.”

“Relax,” Yixing calmly said before pointing to is head, “I have them in here, too.”

Well. It looked like the tunnels weren’t the only things that needed to be destroyed.

Jongdae stood, pressing his back to the corner again as he thought of what needed to be –

“Jongdae,” Yixing said, smiling as he saw him, “What are you doing here?”

“Getting food,” Jongdae said as he lifted up the basket, “Sehun is hungry.” He hoped Yixing wouldn’t suspect him.

“Ah,” Yixing said, looking at Jongdae’s expression carefully, “Well then you should best be on your way then.” He spread an arm out as if to invite Jongdae to leave first.

Jongdae raised the corners of his lips to fake a smile, but Yixing smiled back more convincingly.

After that encounter, Jongdae tried to avoid making Yixing even more suspicious of him.

But honestly it wasn’t his fault he kept conveniently walking into secretive conversations Yixing was having with other fairies. This whole castle was huge, and servants and high noble people flew by around all the time. Didn’t he care that he would be overheard?

“Yixing’s looking at you again,” Sehun whispered to him at dinner one night.

“I guess no one can resist me,” Jongdae whispered back as he eagerly cut into his fruit tart.

“What if he suspects you?” Sehun asked, smiling in order to make it look like they were having a light-hearted conversation.

“I guess I’ll have to take him out before then. We destroyed the tunnels, but he’s going to rebuild them from memory,” Jongdae laughed. Sehun laughed in return.

“What’s so funny? Yifan said, leaning over the table, “Tell me the joke, too!”

“I was telling Jongdae a story of this one light fairy who accidentally tripped over his robes before falling in front of everyone at his birthday dinner,” Sehun casually said.

“Sehun, that was _one time_ ,” Yifan protested, his face reddening with embarrassment, “I didn’t trip all the times after that.”

“All the _birthdays_ after that,” Sehun smiled, “You’ve tripped today haven’t you, too?”

Yifan sighed before reaching forwards to stab Sehun’s uneaten apple slice with his fork before eating it.

“When I’m king,” Yifan said between bunches, “I’ll make it illegal for you to mention any embarrassing stories about me.”

“When you’re king,” Sehun said, leaning comfortably into his chair, “I’ll tell Jongdae that story of the time your robes accidentally fell off at the sun festival. You wouldn’t arrest your own brother would you? You love me too much.”

“Don’t take advantage of that,” Yifan shook his head, “There’s only so much love can excuse, you know. I can’t bail you out if you kill someone.”

“Don’t worry,” Sehun said, waving aside Yifan’s worries aside, “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I always worry about you, Sehun,” Yifan only said in response.

“Well…” Sehun said, “You don’t have to. I’m safe. I have Jongdae, you know.”

“Okay,” Yifan said, his gaze shifting curiously towards Jongdae who suddenly found it a great moment to look at his plate and try to pick up that stubborn piece of fruit tart that just…somehow would not get on his fork.

“Hm…” Yixing said, trading places with a noble as he edged closer to them, “There seem to be an awful lot of birds flying in and out of the castle grounds lately, don’t you all think? Like that one.” Yixing pointed towards the windows, causing everyone to look. Sure enough, a lone raven was flying outside.

Oh.

That must’ve been the bird Jongdae sent to inform Kyungsoo about more light fairy plans recently.

_Not now_. Jongdae silently communicated. _Find me when I’m alone_.

The bird flew off in wordless response.

“Interesting,” Yixing said, his hand falling to his lap, “I wonder where it’s going. Where all of them have gone…”

“Really? I haven’t noticed,” Jongdae calmly smiled, “Until you pointed that one out of course.”

“You should pay more attention,” Yixing said, “You never know what might slip into the castle grounds if you’re not careful.”

“Maybe you should worry about what’s already here at the castle,” Jongdae nodded.

Sehun took this time to laugh nervously at the tension before calling the attention of a waiting attendant to bring out more desserts.

“You’re being obvious,” Sehun whispered to Jongdae while disguising it with a smile.

“Tell that to him,” Jongdae said, smiling back as he placed a bite of apple tart in his mouth.

“Still,” Sehun hissed, “Stop or he’ll be suspicious.”

“I think he’s already suspicious,” Jongdae said before holding out a fork full of apple tart out to Sehun.

“Then don’t give him any more reason to suspect you,” Sehun whispered before eating what Jongdae held out towards him.

 

ϟ

 

Jongdae gave Yixing more reasons to suspect him.

It wasn’t intentional of course, and honestly he was just simply taking advantage of his close proximity to all this light fairy military information. He wanted to do all he could to protect his friends, so he did what he had to do.

And that usually involved calling down birds to send messages and receive their replies.

If he was aware Yixing was following him in the hopes of catching him red-handed with a bird, then he never openly acknowledged it because he would just sit by the balcony and communicate non-verbally there. And every time Yixing would step out of the shadows in the hopes if confrontation and discovery, there was only Jongdae. No birds. Just Jongdae and an open window.

“Nice day isn’t it?” Jongdae would cheerfully say, pointing outside the window before brushing past Yixing.

But Yixing wasn’t satisfied.

And lately Jongdae thought that it was taking a longer time to call a bird.

One of them disappeared, so he called another one.

And another one.

And another one.

Where did the birds go?

Soon, no birds wanted to come to him, afraid of ending up like the rest.

And during one lunchtime, Jongdae wasn’t in the mood for the large turkeys and whole roasted chickens they served and just poked at his vegetables. Yixing offered to carve the birds for the court, and after he gave the king his choice part, he turned to Jongdae with a knife a little too sharp to be cutting just food, and smiled.

“Which part of the bird would you like, Jongdae?” Yixing asked.

“I’m good,” Jongdae waved a hand aside, “I already ate a bit before, so I’m a little full.”

“No, I insist,” Yixing said, “Why don’t you have some white meat…and its wings? Everyone likes its wings.”

Jongdae tensely watched as Yixing piled his plate with the butchered part of the cooked birds before Sehun graciously stepped in.

“Trade with me,” Sehun whispered to Jongdae’s relief as he exchanged their plates.

The rest of lunchtime, Jongdae uncomfortably listened to Yixing talk about birds, the rest of the court indulging him with laughter and interested comments.

“He knows,” Sehun whispered, “He has to know.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Jongdae said, “He has no proof.”

But suddenly Yixing clapped his hands and the front doors swung open as guards came.

“My present to you all,” Yixing shouted, standing up as he raised an arm to accept a cage…

A small cage with at least five ravens within them.

Well. At least they weren’t dead.

“Yixing, why don’t you let them go?” Yifan asked, “What is the meaning of this?”

“As you know,” Yixing said, “We’ve ben suspecting that there was a spy sending information to the dark fairies through these birds,” Yixing said, pacing around the cage. “So it’s time we find out who it really was. And when I open the cage, these ravens will fly to whoever they’ve been familiar with.

Sehun bit back a laugh and disguised it with a cough. Jongdae relaxed and slouched in his seat comfortably. It was a pity Yixing didn’t know enough about dark fairies. Did he think they kept them like mindless pets?

_Fly to him when he opens the cage_ Jongdae silently communicated to the birds.

And smugly, Yixing stared at Jongdae for a moment before opening the door of the cage. The rest of the court held their breaths as the ravens flew out, stretching their wings as they squawked, circling ahead over them all.

“Any moment now, I’m sure they’ll spot the spy who’s been sending them off,” Yixing said, eyes on the birds.

The ravens flew around, continuing to hover above the crowd and raise their tension and interest, but Jongdae was not concerned. And when the birds obediently flew not to Jongdae, but rather to Yixing’s shoulder and perched there, the whole room fell in shock. For a second, it was as if no one knew what to do. All the lords and ladies stood frozen, wide-eyed, unmoving, and Yixing himself was unable to do anything except stare agape at the birds on his shoulder.

“Arrest him,” Yifan stepped in to command the guards in action. The guards seemed delayed in their response, looking stunned, too.

“ _Arrest_ him,” Yifan shouted louder, “What are you waiting for?”

At that, the guards slowly snapped to attention and circled Yixing before dragging him away.

“What a shame,” Yifan shook his head, “I didn’t think he’d betray us like that, but he’ll be tried for treason.”

“What a shame,” Sehun echoed, realizing of course that it was Jongdae who sent the birds, “I didn’t think he’d be that irresponsible to accidentally give himself up like that.”

“Good,” Jongdae managed to say, feeling proud of himself. He destroyed the weapons, had Yixing arrested and awaiting trial, so all was left was to bring Sooyoung back.

And he would have really liked to say that things could only get better after Yixing’s arrest. He really did.

But there was no respite or mercy in times like these.

Because soon a group of soldiers entered the dining room to present to the king their spoils of war that included several metallic weapons, rare gems ripped from dark fairy chainmail…and also this.

Two dark, feathery wings ripped from a back,

A familiar head, severed like that.

 

ϟ

 

“We’ve brought the head of one of the dark fairy king’s best military leaders,” the guard announced as he gleefully threw the decapitated head and wings at the king’s feet. The king laughed and clapped his hands in delight.

“One down! How many more to go now?” the king asked, leaning in front of his chair.

“There’s three more main military leaders to get to the king, but you can be assured they’ll all end up like this after we find them,” the guard laughed as he swept his arm out to emphasize the fallen head, the fallen wings, the fallen fairy.

To his credit, Jongdae was surprised that all his military training and experience still allowed him to remain perfectly composed in this moment. If composure could be described as balling up his hands into tight fists and staring blankly, disbelievingly at the sight. But from the way Sehun reacted, it would’ve seemed that he was the one who hid dark feathered wings under his robes and that he was the one who knew this slaughtered dark fairy.

Because Sehun’s countenance was frozen in a moment of pure fury, pure disbelief as his mouth fell open, his eyes wide, and his hand already finding Jongdae’s own hand. Perhaps he realized that Jongdae knew this desecrated dark fairy. And from the corner of the room, he heard Yifan hastily excuse himself, casting one shocked look at the decapitated head and the ripped wings before looking away and retreating quickly.

“Isn’t this too much?” Sehun shouted, outraged for Jongdae, devastated for Jongdae. “We kill and we kill and we kill, but have some _respect_.”

“What’s wrong with you, Sehun?” the king asked, leaning forward in confusion, “It’s time we got them back and ended this war once and for all. And what’s wrong with you, Jongdae? You look like you haven’t seen a dead person before! I thought you fought on the battlefield with General Choi.”

“It’s…the manner in which this dark fairy has been killed,” Jongdae spoke, very aware of all the curious gazes in the room on him. One wrong word, one wrong action and everyone would know. “We should at least respect the dead.”

“You’re no fun,” the king shook his head, “This dark fairy has killed, what…how many of our own? I’m sure you know people killed by the war by our enemies. It’s not right.”

“No, it really isn’t,” Jongdae said, grasping Sehun’s hand tighter as he gazed at his friend, his friend, that was his family, his brother, his _friend_. His –

“Let’s go, Jongdae,” Sehun disgustedly said, his voice shaking with fury and something else as he turned and pulled Jongdae towards the door.

And with all the eyes of the court and for everyone to witness, Jongdae dared to whisper that sentiment one last time as memories spent together with the fallen fairy flashed heartbreakingly through his mind.

_Until the next_.

 

ϟ

 

Jongdae waited until they were safely in his room and away from prying eyes before he finally broke down and cried.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun said, breathing deeply as he held Jongdae tightly and as Jongdae cried into his shoulder, “You must’ve known him.”

And between sobs, Jongdae burst forth, spilling out all the memories he had while Sehun listened. Jongdae told Sehun how that fairy had been one of his first friends, one of his only friends. How sweet he had been, how patient and caring he had been. How he had always stood up for Jongdae when older dark fairies sneered at him for being human, how he always had his back if they fought together. How it would’ve been better to die together than to live apart like this. Like now.

And when he looked up, removing his face from Sehun’s shoulder, Jongdae couldn’t help but let out a half-chuckle, half-sob as he saw Sehun’s face scrunching up as he, too, cried.

“Why are you crying, too?” Jongdae hiccupped as he slid into Sehun’s lap and wiped away Sehun’s tears with trembling hands. They fit well together like this. Too well. “Don’t cry, Sehun. Don’t cry. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.”

But Jongdae could not even convince his own self, so the two of them simply held each other and cried, cried for the fallen dark fairy, cried for the lives that they couldn’t live, cried for the lives they would have to live.

After a while, the two of them calmed down, but Sehun recomposed himself first as he stroked Jongdae’s back. Silently, he tugged at Jongdae’s shirt, wordlessly indicating that it would be more comfortable for him to free his wings since there was no one else here except him. It was just him. Just Sehun. Just Jongdae and Sehun.

Jongdae felt himself let Sehun coax him out of his shirt, relishing in the way he could finally stretch his wings out as he breathed. What a wonderful thing it was to have wings. Sometimes he didn’t mind that they could not fly. Because at least they still made him feel like the dark fairy he felt he was even when so many others disagreed.

“He sounded like an amazing fairy,” Sehun said, breaking the silence after a while, “Whenever we meet, I’d like to thank him for being brave, for being your friend, for being alive when he was.”

Jongdae thought Sehun had too big of a heart. Much too big. If he cried for someone he didn’t even know, _god_ …war was going to destroy him. Maybe it was a good thing the nobles lied to him about such things. And honestly now, Jongdae realized once again that Sehun really would be that one person to not choose between a thousand people and sending one person off to die.

Sehun would be the one to try and save everyone no matter the cost.

Sehun would have been the greatest king.

“What was his name?” Sehun asked, gently pulling Jongdae from his thoughts.

Jongdae’s gaze softened, and he smiled sadly as he thought of that whole lifetime lived and gone without him there to see it burn out bright. He thought of all the times they would not spend together, all the times they would spend together in the next life, the next time.

“Remember his name. It was Minseok,” Jongdae said.

 

ϟ

 

Even though Jongdae was still mourning Minseok, it was not that hard to blend in while looking somber despite the lavish parties and dances still held in the light fairy court, as Yixing’s trial was set to begin soon.

It seemed as if the court was not sure what to think or how to act, because most of them sat around silently, almost like statues as they took in the supposed betrayal of Yixing. Whenever they saw Jongdae, they always mechanically walked up to him to ask what he thought of the situation, why Yixing would do this, was it really true…

“Yixing was not as good as he seemed,” Jongdae would always respond.

They had been keeping Yixing under house arrest until they figured out what to do with him. But Yifan insisted that he should have no special privileges as a noble, as crimes were crimes. So the guards moved Yixing to the real prisons where they kept other criminals, though the prisons were apparently sparse and emptier these days since most were fighting in the war.

Jongdae was walking with Sehun when the guards were moving Yixing that day. Guards grabbed Yixing’s arms and lead him strictly through the palace while another group of guards stood around to make sure he would not try to escape. Yixing’s hands were tightly bound in front of him with rope instead of metal shackles, but whether or not that was a privilege or not, it was unclear. And when he caught sight of Jongdae, Yixing looked up and called out.

“Farewell, Jongdae. There will be a day when you will come to regret this,” Yixing calmly smiled before the guards led him away to imprisonment.

But Jongdae simply looked at Yixing’s retreating dark purple wings and shrugged, feeling more pleased he had stopped him after all. He had done his job…destroyed the weapons, stopped Yixing. So he thought that everything was going smoothly.

But of course he could not escape the war no matter how far he ran, no matter what wings he wore. So when the king at dinner asked him…no… _commanded_ him this, it took Jongdae a few moments to register what had been demanded of him.

“…What?” Jongdae said, his fork somehow still held up in his hand despite his muscles going slack.

“Oh I know it’s hard to talk over the table like this,” the king said, “But we are missing some extra light fairy soldiers. Some didn’t make it here and others ran off, so we could use someone like you for a few battles. The dark fairy’s main army lead by their insolent king is advancing towards a major village, and we’re going to intercept them and destroy them. We could use someone with your expertise since General Choi is still missing, so you’ll be sent out in a few days.”

“What?” Jongdae repeated softly.

“ _What_?” Sehun said, slamming his fork down.

“What?” Yifan surprisingly said, “Am I allowed to go, too? I’ve never fought in a battle and I feel useless staying here being idle while others go in my stead.”

The king sighed and took the time to debate between eating another strawberry tart or a blueberry one this time. But he chose neither and grabbed a slice of peach instead and took a bite, taking his time before answering that _no_ Yifan would stay here since it was much too big a risk and the light fairies needed their crown prince, that _no_ Sehun should have known better than to rudely shout at dinner, and that _yes_ , Jongdae was going to be sent out in a couple of days.

“You _have_ served in the army before, right? I think I’ll ask General Choi about you when we find him,” the king nodded, “I’d like to hear what you’ve done with the light fairy army in your time there. You seem like a very interesting soldier.”

Jongdae tried to say something…anything…but as he could not trust himself to speak, he simply offered a nod to the king who was satisfied enough with that response.

He didn’t know what was worse.

Going back to war.

Or fighting against his own people.

But Sehun could speak, and easily he spoke of how _no_ , Jongdae must stay here, how Jongdae could not go back to war, how Jongdae should not leave.

“Sehun, he’s a soldier. This is what he’s supposed to do,” the king said, “You understand, right? This isn’t personal. I’d send you, too, if you weren’t my son and if you weren’t the prince.”

“Can’t you let one stay? How’s one going to make a difference?” Sehun said.

“We studied this in our lessons, Sehun,” Yifan spoke again, though gently this time. Already he had conceded to their father. “One fairy can make all the difference.

“Exactly,” the king nodded, “and especially since Jongdae has good experience, skills, and technique, he will be useful on the battlefield.”

The king continued speaking, arguing with Sehun that he was the king so Sehun couldn’t stop this from happening. And finally, Sehun fell silent, but did not fall back, desperately, furiously glaring at his father in the hopes that it would change his mind.

“Do you have any questions?” the king asked after he explained the plan to Jongdae.

“When do I have to go?” Jongdae finally spoke. The fork finally dropped from his hand and clanged dissonantly on the porcelain plate.

“In three days,” the king nodded.

 

ϟ

 

Honestly perhaps it was time for Jongdae to leave. There was nothing else for him to do here, as he was already done with his mission. The weapons were destroyed, there didn’t seem like any major threats to the dark fairies to report, and he had done almost everything he was supposed to do, though he supposed he could go back and convince Sooyoung to leave with him after whenever this battle finished. So maybe it was good that something forced him to leave and confront the reality of this life because Jongdae wasn’t sure if he’d ever leave Sehun.

But he did.

But he had to.

And on the third day, the two previous days spent in company with each other of course, Jongdae stood, hood drawn over his face, glitter rubbed into his skin, swords and weapons dangling from his belt as he said goodbye to Sehun. It was hard, trying to forget this might be the last time they’d meet. Jongdae was a little bothered with how easily Sehun could smile in this time, but said nothing of it.

“Stay out of trouble when I’m gone,” Jongdae said, “But you have my dagger. Use it if you’re in need.”

“I won’t need it because I’ll see you again,” Sehun said, looking strangely confident in this. Perhaps it was his lack of experience with the war. After all, how was Sehun supposed to know how long battles lasted for when he hadn’t even stepped outside the castle walls? “I’ll see you again.”

“Until the next,” Jongdae nodded, wondering how he managed to calmly say the traditional dark fairy sentiment when his throat felt so tight.

“Next day,” Sehun grinned.

“I wish,” Jongdae laughed, “Stick around, prince. I’ll come back and show you the world.”

“I’ve only ever wanted to see the world and humans, and I’ve found both with you already,” Sehun said. Jongdae raised a hand over his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun. But it continued to steadily shine, casting its light over Sehun and making his wings sparkle even more, his whole self appear even more radiant.

“Do you say that line to everyone you meet,” Jongdae amusedly said.

“Just my favorite,” Sehun winked, and suddenly Jongdae really didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to leave when they had just met, had just started this, had just understood each other. He didn’t want to leave when he had just found Sehun.

And what if he didn’t come back? Or what if he couldn’t come back? Or what if—

“I mean it, Jongdae,” Sehun said again, smiling as the sun’s light lit up his silhouette, “I’ll see you again. Tomorrow.”

Jongdae didn’t respond because surely it was impossible…it was impossible for the battle to end in one day and for him to possibly come back after one day. It was impossible for him to go all the way back to tell the rest of the dark fairies what had happened and go back in one day. It was impossible for him to see Sehun again in one day given their reality.

Lost in thought, Jongdae’s eyes flickered to the fiery edges of the sun before flickering back to Sehun’s face. Always, he would look at Sehun and find the sun, unable to look away as his burning heart ignited with those strong sentiments. And always, Sehun would look directly at the sun to find Jongdae, only to look away as his burning eyes blinked away watery stars.

 

ϟ

 

The journey from the castle to the front lines of the battle was…the same.

Jongdae traveled with different fairies, different faces, but it was the same. New soldiers tried to look confident and unafraid, but Jongdae knew better when he saw them clutch the hilts of their swords tightly and smiled a little too widely. And returning soldiers laughed like how Baekhyun would laugh when he realized that they would have to fight again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the days after tomorrow. And all would gather and sing songs that Jongdae didn’t know, except the sentiment was always the same.

_Don’t die!_

_Don’t die!_

_Don’t die!_

Except this time… _this_ time, Jongdae didn’t feel different. He didn’t feel the stares of those who looked at him and saw neither dark fairy nor human. This time, he didn’t feel different even though he knew his green wings were borrowed. This time, he didn’t feel different even though he knew the light fairies he laughed with would have turned on him had they known what Sehun knew. This time, he didn’t feel different even though he was.

“Now that we’ve got General Choi’s _personal_ attendant with us,” Jae, a light fairy, excitedly said as soon as the songs died down, “There’s no way we’ll lose!”

“I’m sure Jongdae will cut _straight_ through all those dark fairies,” Younghyun, another new soldier said, driving his hand straight through the air for emphasis.

Jongdae laughed off their words, but briefly he wondered what really would he do when he would have to fight those he once fought together with?

“Do you think my mother will remember me when I’m here?” Dowoon, a younger light fairy softly asked between the rambunctious atmosphere. It was clear this was the first time he’d been in the army. “How long do you think I’ll stay out here?”

“Of course she’ll remember you,” Jongdae tried to reassure him.

“She forgot my father, you know,” Dowoon continued, “Married again right after he left. He never came back though, so…”

“Mothers don’t forget their children,” Jongdae said, and suddenly the weight of the silver dagger with the ruby hilt dragged his belt down even though he knew it was not there, even though he knew it was with Sehun.

And finally…finally when they reached a decent campsite, Jongdae walked ahead while the others flew above him, ignoring playful teasing about how he preferred to walk than to fly.

“Oh! Look at him walk!” someone pointed. But unlike those other times before, this time, they didn’t mean it malevolently. Just playfully.

“Jongdae thinks he’s human,” another light fairy laughed.

“I am,” Jongdae called out, “ready to start telling General Choi how disobedient you’ve all been once he gets back if you don’t start assembling the tents.”

He crossed his arms and tried his best to glare at those smiling faces of his people’s enemies. With that, the light fairies all scrambled, fluttering about with their bright wings before pulling out the canvases, the poles, the supplies, and within moments, a decent campsite had been built.

But before they had any chance to enjoy the campsite they had built and rest, a messenger fairy flew towards them within moments, calling them to join a battle that had started about five miles away. Captain Jonghyun was leading the dark fairies, and the light fairies there needed reinforcements.

Jonghyun?

Jongdae hadn’t seen Jonghyun in so long since they served in different regiments, but what a greeting he would receive were he to see Jongdae now.

So Jongdae borrowed a light fairy helmet, covered his whole body so the sun would not seep through, and lead the others all on horseback towards the battle. And oh the battle…Jongdae stabbed the dark fairies non-fatally, knocked them out as best as he could, often intervening for other soldiers so no one would be killed. He didn’t see Jonghyun, didn’t see anyone he recognized, but he just tried his best to incapacitate without killing before moving onwards.

And when the battle had thinned out and both sides began to retreat, Jongdae waited until everyone had started fleeing as he rode, counting those who had survived. And when they reached the campsite again, it was a miracle that everyone…was alright. Everyone survived. Some like Younghyun got by with a sprained ankle, others like Jae with a stab wound in his shoulder, and while a few were more seriously injured than others, for now, everyone was alive.

And Jongdae was. Relieved.

He was about to head inside his own tent for a long nap before he heard loud arguing. Curious, Jongdae walked around the tents to find three fairies arguing, and the absurdity, the surprise of the situation caused him to laugh out loud.

“Sehun,” Jongdae shook his head, unable to hide his amusement as he walked towards them.

“Jongdae,” Sehun’s expression lit up as soon as he saw him. The guards that held him looked wary, but relaxed their grip once they saw them interact.

“Leave me alone,” Sehun said, wrenching his shoulders from the guards’ grasp, “Jongdae will take care of me, and I’ll have you thrown in prison for—”

“My prince, you aren’t supposed to be here. The king will have our heads if you die or get injured,” one of the soldiers said.

Sehun shot them a cold look that had them withering under his gaze.

“He won’t kill one of his own,” he said, “He won’t kill light fairies.” The soldiers opened their mouth to protest before Sehun continued speaking.

“Jongdae will protect me,” Sehun crossly said, folding his arms over his chest, “Leave me in his care, and I won’t die at all. I won’t even go out to the battlefield.”

The soldiers hesitated, but took one more look at Sehun’s defiant gaze and decided they had other life-threatening battles to fight and conceded, though leaving only after making Sehun promise he wouldn’t leave the campsites and his tent.

“Oh, Sehun,” Jongdae fondly said, his expression softening as he approached closer, “What are you doing here of all places?” The weariness he had felt earlier after just a day of battle had quickly dissipated and was replaced by a blossoming brightness.

“I wanted to see the rest of the world, Jongdae,” Sehun said, instantly grasping his hand as soon as they were close enough to do so, “I want to see humans…what they’re like…How they live.”

“You won’t find any humans here,” Jongdae said, “Just death. This isn’t a place for you.”

“But you’re here, too,” Sehun said, “And my place is with you, so here I am.”

Jongdae’s chest tightened with something akin to longing and pure devastating affection, and was about to say something in return before a group of light fairies flew past them as they frantically carried injured soldiers on stretchers.

From the amount of blood that stained their clothes and their skin, it did not look hopeful.

And this was not the first time Sehun encountered such a sight because he had seen those tortured, dead dark fairies before, but he was still _stunned_. This was the true reality of life outside his garden. This was the true reality of everyone except for himself. And Sehun stood there, petrified, almost as if he was like the statue of the girl they had found in the tunnels before.

One by one the light fairies flew injured people past them, and Sehun continued to stare, taking in the brutality, the blood.

Jongdae, too, was a bit moved by the sight. His people had done that to these fairies. But what were their names? Who were they? Would anyone remember them if they died?

To avoid seeing the sights, Sehun escaped not into his tent, but rather into his own mind as he sat down on the grass.

“Maybe I should leave so your stubborn self will leave this place, too,” Jongdae said as he sat down beside Sehun.

“Then let’s leave,” Sehun said even though none of them made a move to get up.

“Do you think humans have it easier? They’re supposed to be in peaceful times now,” Sehun spoke.

“They had to go through war to get there, Sehun,” Jongdae gently reminded.

“Then how long will our wars last? I was born in the middle of it, and even now it’s still going on.

“I don’t know,” Jongdae admitted, “It doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon even after we destroyed those weapons, so I guess this’ll have to do.”

He slipped his hand into Sehun’s and they sat in silence once more as they listened to the tortured screaming from the medical tent.

So maybe they would have to do.

Maybe the fleeting moments of happiness would have to do, maybe the calm moments they spent with each other would have to do, maybe the simplicities of life would have to do. Maybe them together just like this would have to do.

And while having Sehun with him on the battlefield was supposed to make Jongdae feel happier, which, of course it did, so many more things were harder now.

Leaving was harder.

Thinking that he might not come back anytime was harder.

And when Jongdae had to leave with the rest of the light fairy soldiers to fight again, leave without Sehun again, he stood on his tiptoes, gently placing his hands around Sehun’s cheeks as he kissed him.

“Until the next,” he tried to calmly say after he pulled away and tried to exit the tent.

But not before Sehun reached out to grab his hand and stop him.

“No, no, no,” Sehun shook his head, unwilling to accept the finality and premonition of the statement, “I’m not a dark fairy, so you can’t say that to me. I’ll see you again.”

“Sehun,” Jongdae said, wishing things could be different, wishing that perhaps it would be better if he was either dark fairy or human but not both, both trapped in between this state of perpetual displacement. But he belonged here. He belonged with Sehun, and he did not want to go.

“I’ll see you again,” Sehun repeated fervently. But Jongdae was not scared of this sun, and he could not, would not look away even though his heart burned with something…something akin to heat, too.

“You will not die. I again will see you.”

 

ϟ

 

Jongdae didn’t die.

Obviously.

He was still a skilled soldier, one of the best among the dark fairies, and one of the best among the light fairies, too.

“No wonder you assisted General Choi directly,” Jae shouted over the din of the clashing swords as Jongdae quickly saved his life by stabbing the attacking dark fairy’s thigh.

Jongdae didn’t answer, didn’t seek to raise suspicion or quell it with anything he might say, so he just focused on injuring dark fairy soldiers as non-fatally as possible. And while he easily incapacitated less skilled dark fairy soldiers, there was one soldier that almost caught him off guard with his precise attacks and skilled deflections. This dark fairy soldier was stronger, faster, better than all the other ones he had fought, and with a jolt, Jongdae recognized this fighting style, this feinting, fast-paced technique intended to confuse and trick opponents before it was too late. But that’s not what struck him, as when he looked under the shadows of the hood, he knew.

And when Jongdae purposefully slowed down their fighting, his opponent froze when he saw Jongdae’s eyes through the slits of his helmet. And without a further word, he threw down his sword and charged at Jongdae with a cry, knocking Jongdae to the ground.

For a while, Jongdae let his opponent lay on top of him while they cried together, clutching each other, holding each other even as screams pierced the air.

“Jongdae,” his opponent cried, “Oh my _god_ , Jongdae.”

“ _Baekhyun_ ,” Jongdae finally cried out, grasping him tightly. For a while, they stayed there holding each other, not realizing how much they had missed each other, how long they spent without each other until now.

It had been too late to see Minseok like this. He had been too late.

“I saw Minseok,” Jongdae said.

With that, Baekhyun buried his head deeper in Jongdae’s neck, not caring who might see them. And to anyone who happened to glance over them, they only looked like two dead bodies piled on top of each anyways.

“They caught him, Jongdae,” Baekhyun tried to explain calmly, but failing as his voice wavered instantly, “They caught him and killed him. Kyungsoo tried a plan similar to the one where he sent you and a small group out first. But this time it didn’t work. They captured Minseok and killed everyone else before the reinforcements could come.”

“Why didn’t he wait for me,” Jongdae hoarsely said, “Minseok didn’t have to take my place…Kyungsoo could’ve waited until I came back.”

“I tried…I tried so hard to convince him to not to do that again,” Baekhyun said, “You barely survived the last time, so...”

“Baekhyun,” Jongdae said, “They brought Minseok’s head and his wings to the light fairy king. I saw him.”

Baekhyun didn’t say anything, simply clutched Jongdae’s shoulders tighter and tighter in response as he breathed.

“Did anyone else?” Jongdae tried to ask, “When I was gone…did anyone else?”

Baekhyun managed to shake his head, and Jongdae breathed.

“I have to go back,” Jongdae realized.

“No,” Baekhyun said, gripping Jongdae’s shoulders tightly as the battle raged on around them, “Not you, too.”

“I’ll see you again,” Jongdae said, repeating that light fairy sentiment Sehun had taught him. It seemed right.

But there was no _until the next_ uttered from Baekhyun’s mouth as he let Jongdae push him off and as he lay sprawled face up with the sun’s rays dancing on his glittery skin as he played dead. Just this.

“Come back home,” Baekhyun shouted before closing his eyes, laying on the field, too overwhelmed to keep fighting, too overwhelmed to keep actively living for now.

But Jongdae had someone he had to come back to first, so he kept on fighting, kept on pressing onwards until the battle ended and the dark fairies retrieved their dead and fled. Jongdae watched as Baekhyun was carried away, but he knew better than to think the worst.

And at the end of the battle, Jongdae felt strangely calm as he ignored the fallen. He and Jae helped support Younghyun, who had bravely tried to fight despite his sprained ankle. It would have been nice if he could rest, but what could he do? Battles didn’t wait for the injured to heal.

“How do you think humans survive if they have to walk the whole time?” Jae asked a little too cheerfully given what had just occurred.

“Maybe they’re just stronger than fairies,” Younghyun shrugged as best as he could as he held Jongdae’s shoulder tightly with a hand.

“Can you believe half your wing was ripped, too? It’ll be at least a week before you can fly again,” Jae shook his head.

“It’s okay. Younghyun and I can walk together,” Jongdae reassured Younghyun, “Or you can carry him when you fly, Jae.”

“I guess I’ll be human for a week,” Younghyun smiled, “But why do you walk so much, Jongdae? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fly even though your wings look perfectly fine.”

Because these weren’t his real wings.

Because he couldn’t fly.

“Because I just prefer it,” Jongdae said instead, “If we keep relying on our wings, then our legs will grow weak. We can’t fly forever.”

“True,” Jae grinned, “My arms are already not the strongest, so I’ll be useless if I can’t fly.”

“Walk with Jongdae and me,” Younghyun said as he limped along, “We’ll be okay like this.”

“We’ll be fine,” Jongdae smiled.

When they finally reached their campsites, Jongdae and Jae helped Younghyun towards the medical tents where other light fairies were receiving treatment for any injuries they suffered. One fairy was wincing as a nurse stitched a deep gash on her arm up. Another fairy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as a head of an arrow was carefully removed from his stomach. And another fairy was—

Wait.

“Oh!” Jongdae said, dropping Younghyun’s arm as he quickly walked deeper inside the medical tent once he saw.

“Oh!” Jongdae said again, pointing at that light fairy, “It’s you!”

“It’s you!” Sehun grinned, springing up from his seat as he pointed back at Jongdae.

“What are you doing here?” Jongdae said Sehun rushed forwards to make sure Jongdae was mostly unharmed before he threw his arms around him and embraced him tightly.

“I was bored,” Sehun said after he released Jongdae and looked at him as if he couldn’t believe he was real, as if he did believe he was alive, “You can’t expect me to stay inside that stuffy tent the whole time you’re gone, so I wandered…and found myself here.”

“The prince has been helpful,” the head physician interjected near them, “I was glad to have his assistance.”

“So what did you do today, Jongdae?” Sehun asked, leading him outside the medical tent.

“Me?” Jongdae said before answering as if there was no war, “I met a couple of guys who wanted to kill me…met an old friend…survived…and…And I came back.”

“I’m so glad,” Sehun said, and as soon as they reached their tent, he pressed an eager kiss to Jongdae’s forehead before rummaging around.

“So what did you to today?” Jongdae asked as he sat on their blankets, “Besides finding the medical tent?”

“I waited for a fairy who had to meet some others who wanted to kill him, stayed in the tent in complete boredom, wandered outside,” Sehun said as he kept looking for something, “And I found an apple for you today.”

Sehun excitedly pulled out a golden red apple and held it out for Jongdae to take.

“Oh, Sehun,” Jongdae said as he gratefully took the apple, “ _Thank you_.”

“I still remember when you told me all that time ago that soldiers never ate well,” Sehun thoughtfully said as he took back the apple to shine and clean just for Jongdae, “Do you know how shocked I was? Look at everyone, look at you suffering out here…But I still remember you missed eating apples, so here’s another one. I hope in the future you can eat all the apples you want until you feel like you’ll never miss them again.”

“You remembered,” Jongdae smiled, feeling so deeply content as Sehun took out his ruby-studded dagger to cut a piece of apple for him.

“I always do,” Sehun nodded, offering a bit of the apple to Jongdae. Wordlessly, Jongdae accepted the slice of apple and sat contentedly with Sehun as they ate, as they laughed, as they lived.

Jongdae may have fallen asleep that day feeling content, feeling Sehun wonderfully pressed next to him, but when they awoke later that night, he couldn’t.

He couldn’t.

Breathe.

Screams and frantic yelling woke Sehun up, but the smell of billowing smoke around the camps caused Jongdae to sit up straight and to _panic_.

Smoke.

Burnt flesh.

_No_.

Unlike the other times he had stood frozen as memories triggered by the smell overwhelmed him, he was living this _now_. The dark fairies had ambushed their light fairy camps by setting fire to the tents, so this was _real_ , the burning flesh was _real_ , the smoke and fires were _real_. Eyes wide, Jongdae tried to gasp for breath, and he immediately staggered into Sehun’s shoulder for support.

“Jongdae, let’s go,” Sehun said, throwing their blankets away. But Jongdae was unresponsive, nodding his head even though he _needed_ to leave, he _needed_ to get as far away from here as possible. Sehun took his hand away for a moment, racing to the other side of the tent as he picked up their cloaks and gathered a few of their belongings together. In Sehun’s absence, Jongdae felt himself sway and slump towards the ground, focusing on breathing, his breathing, his _breathing_ as he balled up his fists in desperation.

But before Sehun could reach Jongdae in time, the flap of their tent was pushed open as a dark fairy leapt inside, a sword raised offensively in one hand. They took one look at Jongdae’s unresponsive state, took another look at Sehun standing perfectly fine, and deemed him the bigger threat as he raced towards and attacked.

_No_.

“ _Kill_ them,” Jongdae managed to cough out, hands trembling as he pointed to the dagger that hung from Sehun’s belt. He was trying so hard to find the energy to push himself off of the ground, but it was still so hard to _breathe_.

“Jongdae, I—” Sehun frantically yelled, dodging the dark fairy’s attacks as quickly as he could.

_No_.

“ _Kill them_ ,” Jongdae choked out, hands falling to the ground as he meant what he said.

“Jongdae, I _can’t_ ,” Sehun screamed as the edge of the dark fairy’s sword barely missed his neck.

But Jongdae could.

And Jongdae would for Sehun.

So somehow despite panicking, Jongdae stopped breathing because it was too hard to try anymore, and found the strength somewhere within himself to push himself off the floor, unsheathe his sword, and slit the dark fairy’s neck. Both of them fell, the dark fairy dead, Jongdae too spent and exhausted from that one effort. Sehun caught him, supported him, and without a further look back, pulled Jongdae out of their tent. Around them, light fairies burned, their wings lighting up as the fire consumed them. Dark fairies closed in on those that survived, and those that managed to survive unbent, unburnt fought back.

“Alright,” Sehun calmly said as he surveyed the chaos. Usually it was Jongdae who grabbed Sehun’s hand and ran, who saved Sehun from everything that tried to harm him, but this time, Sehun gently picked up Jongdae and flew them away from the burning campsite. Maybe it wasn’t right of them to leave the others behind without even attempting to fight alongside them, but Sehun didn’t care. He only cared about Jongdae here.

Jongdae breathed in the fresh air high above the smoke and clung to Sehun as they flew through the air. Sehun took them to a nearby forest and gently placed Jongdae on a thick branch before sitting next to him. After a while, Jongdae managed to calm down and breathe normally.

“You know,” Jongdae spoke at last, “This was my least favorite combat strategy. I’ve only ever witnessed this one other time…when I was with the dark fairies of course. We burned and set fire to the light fairies out of desperation, but the smell of it all…the screaming…It was too much.”

“And now they’ve come back to try the strategy again,” Sehun said, “I guess they weren’t bothered by it like you, Jongdae. But is this what scared you? The burning?”

“It isn’t fire that scares me,” Jongdae continued, “That would be ridiculous since dark fairy tunnels are all lit by fire.”

“Then what is it?” Sehun asked carefully.

“It’s the burnt flesh. It’s the memories, the knowledge that what we can do and what we have done each other to survive is worse than what any king, any war are capable of perpetuating. What a world, right?” Jongdae shook his head.

“It’s not all that bad,” Sehun remarked as the sound of screaming echoed even here in the tall branches.

“Really,” Jongdae said, looking down at the burning campsite. He didn’t want to know how many fairies had burned to death tonight.

“Yeah,” Sehun nodded slowly, “You’re alive, you’re here, after all.”

 

ϟ

 

It had seemed that somehow the king had been informed that not only had Sehun snuck away from the palace, but also that he almost died in a dark fairy ambush. So quickly, he had sent his fastest messenger to order him to come home…even if he had to be forcibly dragged all the way back. Apparently the king specifically requested Jongdae to pull back, too, and accompany Sehun to the castle again.

After all he had seen and experienced again, Jongdae wasn’t complaining.

But Sehun didn’t look too pleased to be going back to the castle and made his displeasure quite known to all the guards and the messenger who accompanied them back to make sure Sehun really did leave.

“The king wants a word with you now,” a messenger said, bowing as she greeted them once they approached the gleaming, golden gates of the light fairies’ castle.

“ _Fantastic_ ,” Sehun muttered, “I can’t wait until he tells me how wrongly I’ve acted…how wrongly he’s acted, too. It’s not like I killed anyone. I just snuck out.”

“I’ll see you again,” Jongdae said, touching Sehun’s arm before Sehun was glumly lead away. He watched the glow of Sehun’s wings brighten up the passageway until they appeared no more than a burning sun in the distance and until they appeared no more.

Sehun may have been upset to return back to the confines of his castle, but Jongdae…liked it actually. Sooyoung and Yuri greeted him excitedly, happy he had returned safely, and the chef was more than happy to sit him down in the kitchen and feed him plate after plate of food. So after he caught up on the castle life he missed, contented and sleepy, Jongdae walked back to his room he missed, crawled into his large, soft bed with more pillows than he needed, and fell asleep.

But not long after he had fallen fast asleep, whispering intruded his dreams, slowly pulling him from unconsciousness. That low whispering gradually grew louder and louder until Jongdae awoke to someone losing their temper.

“Listen…just _listen_ to me. This _is_ who we’re supposed to take out,” someone yelled, causing Jongdae’s eyes to fly open.

“Um…I don’t see any dark fairy wings,” someone else said, “I’ll kill a dark fairy, but this…this is a light fairy.”

“Oh my _god_ look,” the first voice said, and before Jongdae had any time to speak, to defend himself, to do anything at all, the intruders in his room took advantage of his dazed state. One of the fairies pulled the sheets off of Jongdae’s bed, flipped him over, and cut through his shirt to expose his real wings.

“Damn,” the other voice said, “A dark fairy in disguise. I guess it won’t be too bad to follow this order then.”

Jongdae screamed.

Jongdae screamed, trying to twist his arms, his wings, his body out of the grasp of the light fairies who pinned him down. But he wasn’t strong enough this time, wasn’t prepared enough this time, so with his heart beating so fast it could have broken out of his chest, Jongdae felt as his wings were tightly held and pushed upwards. Briefly, Jongdae managed to turn his head and see a flash of metal that appeared closer and closer, and panicking, he writhed and did his best to free himself.

But he still stayed trapped, so to anyone…anyone listening he prayed…because no… _no_ …not his wings.

Anything but his wings.

Jongdae shut his eyes, still trying to wrench his body from his assailants’ grasps, and if this was going to end badly, at least he could say he fought until the end.

But within moments, somehow the hands that pressed his body downwards lifted, and Jongdae turned to see what had happened even though his wings were still held in place. And above a slumping body with bloody hands grasping a blood-stained silver dagger with a ruby hilt stood Sehun.

Sehun, who had cried when he saw Minseok.

Sehun, who couldn’t, wouldn’t even try defending his own self.

Sehun, who did to save Jongdae.

While Sehun had easily stabbed one of the light fairies, the other, startled either by his prince’s presence or his accomplice’s abrupt death, loosened his grasp on Jongdae as he stared. Noticing the barely contained fury that was bursting from Sehun’s stony expression, the fairy quickly let go of Jongdae’s wings and bowed, hoping for leniency since Jongdae was still alive. But Sehun didn’t care. Sehun didn’t care as he rushed forwards with a snarl and coldly stabbed the fairy, pushing his body away to reach Jongdae.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Sehun said, dropping the dagger for a moment before approaching Jongdae, his hands finally shaking at last as they hovered over Jongdae’s shoulders. Beside them the fallen bodies of the light fairies sent to kill Jongdae lay slumped over, blood spilling out of their deep wounds. Sehun didn’t look this time.

Jongdae didn’t care that Sehun’s hands were bloody because he launched himself into Sehun’s arms and hugged him as they breathed.

“Thank you,” Jongdae said, trying to control his breathing, trying to forget those arms that had pushed him down, trying to repress the image of the glint of steel that almost cut off his wings.

“I came to ask you if you saw…the dead birds,” Sehun breathlessly said, holding Jongdae so tight, none of them minding the blood that stained each other’s clothes, “But I was glad I came in time before they killed you…whoever they were…whoever’s orders they were acting on.”

“What dead birds?” Jongdae looked up, stunned. Surely not the ravens?

“Come,” Sehun said, standing up before holding out a hand to pull Jongdae up.

Sure enough, outside of Jongdae’s room there laid a dead raven, its little neck snapped and twisted in an unnatural position. They must have appeared when Jongdae was in his room. Recognizing the bird as one of those that helped him, Jongdae regretfully realized he didn’t even know the bird’s name.

But to the left of Jongdae’s room, there laid another bird. And a few meters away, there was another bird. And another. All dead, dead, dead.

Wordlessly, Jongdae and Sehun followed the trail of dead birds until they stopped in front of the throne room. Sehun pushed open the door, leaving a bloody handprint on the pristine white wood as they walked inside.

It seemed the whole court had gathered and were dancing on the main floor of the throne room. Jongdae recognized Soojung, Jessica, Yuri, and Sooyoung with their arms linked as they danced together. Had there been another dance that he hadn’t known about? What was this?

“Sehun!” a voice called from the dance floor, and suddenly Yifan appeared before them with a smile, “Our father’s decided to hold a surprise dance party. Come join!”

“Our father?” Sehun asked, “But he didn’t tell me…I was just with him, and he never mentioned this.”

“It seems you must’ve been the only one then since the whole court is here. Maybe he wanted to surprise you,” Yifan said, spreading his arms around the room where the people continued to dance.

Jongdae glanced at the front of the room, standing on tiptoes so he could see past the tall light fairies. Sure enough someone was sitting there, calmly watching everyone dance.

Edging closer, Jongdae pushed past the light fairies until he reached the throne.

“Your Majesty,” Jongdae cautiously bowed, unsure if it was him who had sent the assassins to murder him. Behind the king stood a row of armored guards, their faces concealed in helmets.

“Did you really call this party?” Sehun asked as he caught up, “Why?” Curious, Yifan trailed behind them.

But the king said nothing, continuing to stare ahead at the dancing fairies in front of him, a dazed expression on his face and a blissed smile stretched over his lips.

“Father?” Sehun asked, snapping impatient fingers in front of the king’s face, but only to receive no response back.

“Father, are you alright?” Yifan tried asking.

Soon, chuckling echoed across the room, and a guard stepped out of line before pulling off his helmet.

“ _You_ ,” Sehun gasped before pointing, pointing at the light fairy.

“Yixing,” Jongdae said, feeling tense, “You should be in prison. The king will have you arrested again,” Jongdae said.

“Treason _and_ attempted assassination? Come on now. It was you, wasn’t it?” Sehun said, “The king will have you executed.”

“The king should have been more careful if you escaped so easily from the prisons,” Yifan warily said.

“The king?” Yixing amusedly said, raising an eyebrow at their questions, “The king is dead.”

“The king’s been dead for five years now.”

 

ϟ

 

Sehun and Yifan looked alarmingly at their own father who looked alive…who was alive…who was alive. Even Jongdae, who didn’t know much about light fairy politics, light fairy royalty, light fairies in general, was struck by Yixing’s words as he gazed questioningly at the king himself standing beside Yixing. Surely this could not be?

“But…but he’s right there,” Yifan calmly said, raising a trembling hand to point at his father who stared blankly ahead instead. Around them, the court ladies and lords continued to dance and laugh, uncaring, unknowing of what was unfolding right before them.

“You’re lying,” Sehun shook his head, “I don’t know what game this is, but you’re _lying_ , and you’ll be thrown into prison for the rest of your life.”

“Father,” Yifan tried, “Tell me what this is. What are you doing?”

But the king looked onwards, smiling at the sight of his court. And as Yixing snapped his fingers, the king mechanically moved backwards to stand where Yixing stood, all while Yixing took the king’s place and sat on the throne.

“Don’t worry,” Yixing said calmly, “If it helps, he died the same day your mother did.”

At the mention of his mother, Sehun tensed, his jaw locking and his arms trembling not with panic, but with anger now.

“What did you say?” Sehun tried to calmly speak. Jongdae turned his attention a bit away from the situation to gaze at the fairies around them, feeling unsettled with how they ignored everything that was happening and were still dancing, eating, laughing. Something…was wrong. Something felt wrong, and Jongdae placed a hand on the hilt of his sword just in case. Just in case.

“You should’ve seen him, princes,” Yixing continued onward, “He was a mess. It was tragic…A king with thousands and thousands of people at his command and here he was crying, mourning just this one fairy. So killing him was merciful, but he was useful…useful to begin my experiments with.” The king blinked emotionlessly as he stood next to Yixing.

“That person was my _mother_ , his _wife_ , the _queen_ ,” Sehun snapped, “Don’t speak of her.”

“Yixing,” Yifan tried again, a little more gently this time, “I really don’t understand. He was there when we buried my mother…Don’t you remember? You were there. You helped carry her crystal casket, too. So he’s still alive. He’s right there.”

“I guess I really have to explain myself,” Yixing smiled, “You see, I’ve been experimenting with light fairies and their wings. Don’t you know what happens when they’re exposed under direct moonlight?”

“Petrification,” Yifan calmly said, “But my father’s right here. He’s still here.”

“Not always,” Yixing grinned, his dimples flashing in his amusement, “What old light fairy nursery rhymes and horror stories don’t tell you…is that petrification only happens to those exposed to the direct light of the full moon for an hour. Now normally those who are petrified and dead stay that way, but I’ve found out a way to transform their dead bodies into ghouls… _Ghouls_. Can you believe? Ghouls…with nothing on their minds except a hunger for blood and a desire for death. And the best part? All of these lords and ladies are dead, too. All products of my experiments. Behold the light fairy court, my greatest legacy.” Yixing said, flourishing his arm to draw his attention to the court.

Jongdae turned his head to look at the court again, and for a moment, he watched as the shimmery patterns of the nobles’ embroidered dresses, satin robes, sparkling wings all flew around the room. Ghosts of laughter and smiles were etched on their faces, and perhaps Jongdae should have known. He should have known that something was wrong when they all acted the same, laughed the same, talked about the same things over and over again every day. And he felt a crushing sense of loss even though he didn’t even know these real people, wasn’t even supposed to feel sympathy for these fairies who killed his own. But as he watched, running over familiar faces, he could not help but feel devastated.

Yuri?

Dead.

Jessica?

Dead.

Soojung?

Dead.

Dead, dead, dead.

Dead.

All dead.

Sehun and Yifan fell silent, taking in for the first time that if what Yixing said was true, then they had been living with fairies long dead for the past five years, they had lost both parents on the same day, they had no one left but themselves. Sehun stood, stunned, but still staring defiantly onwards. But Yifan fell to his knees, the reality finally striking him, and like many other times in his life, he looked away and bent his head. But now, his golden wings changed color, growing paler and paler and paler before brightening more and more until they looked like absolute light. Like the wings of his father. Like the wings of a king. They shone so brightly Jongdae had to look away.

“Would you look at that…All hail the king,” Yixing whistled at the sight of Yifan’s new wings, “King you’ve been all this time, but king you realize only now.”

If anything, Yifan looked even more devastated, his silhouette illuminated by that dazzling light. Sehun whispered for him to get _up_ , and he tugged on his robes to pull him up. And soon the rightful king of the light fairies stood beside his brother the prince. Briefly, Jongdae thought of the two names General Choi had told him all that time ago.

Yixing.

He had been right…He had been so right about Yixing…But perhaps he was five years too late to stop Yixing before anything happened.

And now the other name.

“Sooyoung,” Jongdae said at last, “What about Sooyoung? What have you done with her?” He watched as she twirled happily on the center of the floor, butterflies buzzing around her hair. She still looked beautiful even in death, if this was death. General Choi was going to be so absolutely devastated.

“Sooyoung,” Yixing said, “Ah…that was complicated. When you came and mentioned her, I actually forgot about her…And then I realized she was the only one who stayed petrified. Weird isn’t it? She was my one failed experiment…I could never transform her body into a ghoul. But of course I knew it would be suspicious if she were absent, so I took the time to craft a new Sooyoung from some maid just for you. No one will miss or remember her, so it was easy.”

“General Choi will kill you,” Jongdae said, trying his best to remain calm.

“He won’t. You’ll be dead before you can tell him, and are you really going to tell him what really happened to her? I believe you’ve already found her in the tunnels you destroyed. Are you really going to tell him you buried the petrified body of his daughter?” Yixing said.

“Oh my god,” Jongdae managed to say, the image of the marble-like sculpture with the girl with short hair covering her face in the middle of the tunnel rushing back.

“You’re a monster,” Sehun calmly and clearly said, “I don’t know how you’ve managed this the whole time, but you will die.”

“Look at that,” Yixing said, “Death, death, death. Will it end with me? Will the war end with death? Yes…but it will not be my death. You see, I’ve been doing this to end the war. It’s a pity you destroyed my sun shields, but no matter. I have my ghouls.”

“But how many people you—” Sehun protested.

“How many people have died anyway?” Yixing shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. How they die is irrelevant because no one survives this war. My parents didn’t survive. My friends, my family, my fairies…the fairies from my hometown? Slaughtered. All of them. By dark fairies or light fairies, I don’t know. So fuck all of them. Fuck the war. I’m ending it myself. I’ll kill every single last fairy I see with my army of ghouls, and when I am done ridding this world of fairies, I will cut off my own wings and live among the humans. Do you know how much further advanced they are than us? Just because they’re not involved in the war? Do you know how much life we’re missing because we’re all fighting? It’s sickening.”

Yixing did honestly have a point, and Jongdae remembered how no one learned much anything else except for combat training, for battle tactics, for survival strategies back home. History, archival work, cooking, and non-military work were all skills reserved for people who were not strong enough to fight, who were not able to fight.

“Well. I mean, that’s one way to end the war,” Jongdae said, “If you’re killing everyone. But you can’t expect the dark fairies to just die as easily as the light fairies did when you murdered so many of them.”

“Ah, yes,” Yixing said, looking directly at Jongdae at last, “I almost forgot. The dark fairies. You, a dark fairy. You, who I’ve tried to kill so many times unsuccessfully. You were supposed to die today, but I see my assassins failed.”

“The what?” Yifan said, looking towards Jongdae not in disgust, not in fear, but shock.

“Surprise,” Jongdae drily said, “I’ve come to foil your plans.”

“The _what_?” Yifan repeated, looking at Jongdae in interest.

“Jongdae the dark fairy…I knew something was wrong. As minister of war, I know every high-ranking name, so when I’ve never heard yours, I was curious. But you had too much confidential information, so I let you pass…obviously to my detriment. You had the prince’s help, so it was hard to reach you, to figure you out,” Yixing said, leaning forwards from the throne to gaze at Jongdae even closer.

“Anyways, this is the part where I incapacitate you, right?” Jongdae said, his grasp tightening on the hilt of his sword.

“No, this is the part where I kill him,” Yifan said, pulling out his own sword, the cold metal glinting in the sunlight.

“No, this is the part I show you my hard work and then kill you,” Yixing said, leaning back into his chair before snapping his fingers. The sound echoed throughout the throne room, causing the lords and ladies to freeze. And before everyone’s eyes, their bodies began contorting, shriveling until their limbs elongated, grew paler, grew whiter as their long bodies ripped through their clothes. And before everyone knew it, ghouls…ghouls with red, red eyes, fangs longer than a fairy’s head, dull scales, and a cold, large body looked at them all. Their backs hunched over, and they stood on elongated limbs. Ghostly white limbs. Fuck.

Sehun and Yifan were stunned. Both immediately screamed, but Jongdae already shut himself down. He shut himself down, calmly counting how many ghouls were there as he pulled out his sword and assessed the best method for survival. There were too many to fight, and he didn’t even know what could kill these ghouls if they could even be killed. So escaping was their best option…but escaping how. Where. When.

“How are you controlling them like that?” Yifan asked, cautiously staring, as the ghouls remained motionless, staring at them with burning hatred in their eyes.

“That’s what eating the raw wings of light fairies gives the power to do after all. Most medicinal uses of wings usually involve mixing the wings with other herbal medicine because it is too powerful and concentrated when it is taken alone,” Yixing nodded thoughtfully, “But they taste better than you think.”

“I’ll kill you,” Sehun snarled, leaping forwards, only to be held back by Jongdae who was worried that any sudden movements might trigger the ghouls to attack.

“Sometimes I wondered whether or not I should’ve killed you, too, because what’s the point of keeping around two weak princes that’d just get in my way?” Yixing said, unbothered by Sehun’s words and actions, “But your reactions have truly been worth it. Watching you live every day not knowing your friends and family had already died was worth it. So I thank you for the amusement you’ve given me, but I regret to say today you’ll be joining your father and your mother now. Farewell, farewell, long live death, and farewell.”

With that, Yixing left them with all those horrible realizations, horrible truths and clapped his hands, the sound echoing loudly across the room like a crack of thunder. With that, the ghouls snapped out of their temporary stasis and leapt into action. A few began swiping at the pillars, the marble instantly crumbling within seconds. A few other ghouls began leaping towards them menacingly, and Jongdae was ready to fight their way out at whatever the cost, but the marble pillars that the other ghouls had began smashing began to topple and fall from the ceiling. One crashed into the main doors, effectively blocking an exit from all of this. Another separated Yifan from Jongdae and Sehun. And luckily another smashed onto the two ghouls that were the closest to them. So without hesitating, Jongdae took that lucky chance and grabbed Sehun’s hand before he ran out the side door. Yixing’s laughing haunted him as they left.

“Keep going, Sehun,” Jongdae insisted as they tore through the castle. If they looked back, they would be lost, would be dead, so Jongdae kept running forwards, forwards, always forwards.

“But Yifan,” Sehun screamed over the din of the destruction.

“Keep _going_ ,” Jongdae pushed, “We’ll find him. I promise.”

The two of them continued to run, but the ghouls had seemed to be relentlessly pursuing them, and while some of them left them in order to tear after other fairies whose screams Jongdae never wanted to hear again, a few continued chasing them. The sound of snarls and heavy breathing echoed through the halls, and Jongdae forced a scream down his throat as the sound of sharp claws scraping on the marble floor became louder and louder.

They had to hide, to hide, to _hide_.

And when they ran, tucking into corners and throwing themselves across hallways, Jongdae looked for the closest place they could hide. The parlor rooms were too small, too easy to be found in…The library and its secret attic were too far away…But when they turned around another corner, Jongdae took one look at the tall mahogany doors and realized this was their best chance.

The kitchen, the kitchen, the _kitchen_.

The two of them flung the doors of the kitchen open and stumbled inside, breathing heavily. And when at least fifteen fairies, fifteen scared fairies, turned to look at them from under the tables and in the shadows, Sehun gasped.

“You’re alive!” he called, sending the fairies scrambling out of their hiding spots to greet him properly. “You’re _alive_!” It seemed that Yixing hadn’t bothered with the servants or the attendants, opting to focus his experiments on the nobles.

“My prince,” the cook said, falling to her knees while the rest of the attendants and kitchen staff deeply bowed respectively and reverently.

“I’m not a prince,” Sehun frustratedly said as he bent down to pull the fairy to her feet, “Let’s go...No one else will die today.”

“So you’ve seen them?” the cook said, shaking as she looked at Sehun with wide, wide eyes. “You’ve seen those… _things_? They ripped up three of our waiters before we hid. What are they?”

“Ghouls,” Sehun spat, “Yixing’s killed all the upper court and changed them to ghouls, but we’re leaving before he can find us.”

“Is the king…is the king—” a sous chef asked.

“Yifan is your king now,” Sehun interrupted, not bothering to look away as horror, pity, and loss slowly morphed onto the fairies’ faces. Jongdae hoped with all his might for Sehun’s sake that Yifan was still alive.

Jongdae silently watched as Sehun counted those alive, those unturned before they were to set off all together. This was risky…This was so risky. It was easy to avoid detection if it was only the two of them. But if these fairies were important to Sehun, then Jongdae would protect them, too.

“This way,” Sehun said, leading the way as he tucked past corners and kept to the sparse shadows. The group of light fairies timidly followed him, letting him lead the way before they followed after no ghoul tore him apart.

“This way,” Sehun said, leading the way as he slowed down to make sure everyone was following well. He would not leave anyone behind. He would save all of them.

“This way,” Sehun said, louder this time, leading the way as Jongdae honestly worried that they would surely have attracted the attention of the ghouls by now.

“Your Highness,” the head chef said, breaking free of the group to follow Sehun, “Thank you…thank you for helping us. I think we would’ve died in that kitchen had you not come.”

“Ah, just call me Sehun,” Sehun smiled, “And really, it’s just my duty.”

“Thank you, my prince. And thank you, Jongdae,” the chef beamed before falling back into the group of other light fairies.

“I didn’t know they remembered me,” Jongdae quietly said next to Sehun. His guard had not been lowered yet since the ghouls could still be coming, but it had been some time since they had seen or heard anything. Maybe they had left. But the ghouls had been here, evident from the debris and destruction that they walked past.

“Well, you’re not exactly hard to forget at all,” Sehun whispered back, his eyes forward and his wings glimmering. Even after he saw Minseok, even after he saw the dead dark fairies, even now, he believed everyone could survive.

“You think too much of me,” Jongdae said, remembering his times in the dark fairy army when that was the complete opposite.

And so on they continued walking. The cooks had eased into a more relaxed state, daring to whisper to each other and even trying to smile and laugh. The exit was around here, and Sehun would lead them out. He really would.

But without warning, a scream tore into the corridor, echoing wildly and causing Jongdae to turn around, sword already raised, and he himself could not help but remain completely frozen as a ghoul who had snuck behind them had snatched up a light fairy that was walking towards the end of the group. And before their eyes, everyone turned to look as her head disappeared into the mouth of the ghoul, its long fangs tearing up her neck while the claws grabbed her body and tore the rest apart.

To his credit, Sehun tried to keep a level head as he told the rest of them to run, to _fly_ if they must, but soon ghouls appeared out of nowhere, leaping up, snatching light fairies all around. And soon the air was thick with screams, with blood, and Sehun watched before his very eyes as the chef was gored to death by the fangs that impaled her. There was so much screaming. Screaming, screaming… so much _screaming_.

Sehun would never forget those screams.

“Keep going, Sehun,” Jongdae said, leaping into action and grabbing Sehun’s arm as he pulled him towards any possible way of escape. Sehun was still stunned, eyes wide as the images of the dead, the torn limbs, the slashed bodies he tried to save…that he could not save were seared into his mind. He was lucky that Jongdae had taken his hand and ran, but what about the others? What about the defenseless others who were too frozen to fight, to fearful to fly?

“You have to keep going,” Jongdae repeated, “Always keep going.”

Sehun spared one look back before bowing his head and running forwards. The two of them ran away from the ghouls, away from the massacre, and soon, they hid behind a crumbled pillar. And finally, _finally_ Sehun allowed himself to cry.

“I’ll remember them. I’ll remember every single one of them,” he choked out between sobs. Jongdae leaned over to rub Sehun’s shoulders, though prayed that no soul, no ghoul would hear the noise he was making.

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae said, not knowing what else he could say.

“I’ll kill Yixing myself,” Sehun said, wiping his eyes as his bottom lip wavered.

“You can kill him after we manage to get out of this alive, alright?” Jongdae said, “And I know you want to cry…to keep crying, and I’m so sorry your father is dead and everyone else is dead. But we have to keep going.”

“Okay,” Sehun nodded as he stumbled upwards to get to his feet, “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Do you…want to keep looking? Maybe there will be some survivors,” Jongdae softly asked as they walked slowly, creeping along the shadows of the walls, not sure what to do now, not sure who or what to expect now. But thankfully Sehun shook his head.

“Everyone’s just going to die anyways,” Sehun shook his head and tried to speak as calmly as he could, “So if you and Yifan live, then that will be enough for me.” Once again Jongdae prayed to anyone who was listening that Yifan was alive for Sehun’s sake.

“Will you come back with me then?” Jongdae asked, “I have to warn my people.”

“Where else could I go?” Sehun half-laughed, half-cried, looking at the crushed marble pillars, the trampled flowers, the shattered windows of his castle, his home. “Where else would I go except with you?”

But before Jongdae had time to reply, Sehun asked him another question.

“Can we find Yifan now? I want to leave with him, too,” Sehun said as they passed a hallway of portraits of previous kings, previous royal families. But most of them were slashed apart by the ghouls’ claws, the tears marring and disfiguring the faces and names painted. Who could remember them now?

“Then let’s hurry,” Jongdae said, flexing his arm as he held his sword out defensively, “Stay behind me and run in the opposite direction if any ghouls come. I’ll distract them so you can have time to find a hiding spot.”

“That’s not acceptable,” Sehun said as he remembered to hold out his ruby-hilted dagger, “Why do that when we can just run together? I’ll even fly you out of here myself.”

“Let’s just go,” Jongdae said, finding the strength to laugh. And so they stuck close together as they rushed through the castle, relieved to find Yifan not among the dead they passed, worried to not find Yifan among the living that flew around screeching in the chaos.

Jongdae observed Sehun all this time as they ran through whatever remained of the castle. Sehun would not try to save or lead anyone else, but he took the time to whisper some comforting words to a light fairy slowly fading away after being crushed by a fallen pillar, to bend down and close the eyes of a dead butler whose eyes stared unblinkingly at the sunlight that streamed in, to whisper at a shrieking fairy who was impaled by a fragmented piece of wood that it would be alright, it would be alright, it would be alright…all before he remembered the only other person besides Yifan he really was still here for was Jongdae and left.

Yifan…was a strong sword fighter, or at least Jongdae remembered Sehun saying. So he could still be alive. Right? Jongdae let Sehun focus on finding Yifan, as for now, he focused on their immediate survival, pushing him down a different hallway when he saw a ghoul’s shadow flicker in the direction they were heading towards, pushing them behind large debris as they waited for a ghoul to pass, pushing his sword into a ghoul’s eyes before grabbing Sehun’s hand to run before it recovered.

So he was relieved when Sehun finally found Yifan running through the halls with his sword raised and bloody. They would have missed him completely if Sehun didn’t stop to shout his name.

“Oh, good… _good_ ,” Yifan said, stopping as he breathed raggedly, “I would’ve died if you didn’t survive.”

“I’m glad you’re alive, too,” Sehun, leaving Jongdae’s side momentarily to rush closer, “Are you hurt? This blood isn’t yours right?”

“No, thankfully…But so many people are gone, Sehun…Most of the nobles were turned into ghouls and they’ve been killing the maids, the butlers, the servers, the attendants…It’s…it’s horrifying,” Yifan shook his head.

“Father’s dead,” Sehun said, trembling slightly as he said the solemn truth out loud, “He’s been dead for five years. We’re the only ones left here.”

“I know,” Yifan’s face darkened, “I’ve always thought he changed after mother died, but this…I don’t know what’s worse…living with the lie or realizing he’s been dead and we didn’t even get to say good-bye.”

“Let’s go before you die, too,” Sehun said. But Yifan made no move towards them, simply taking the time to straighten up as he caught his breath.

“Yifan, you have to go…let’s _go_ ,” Sehun begged again as he tugged on Yifan’s sleeve, not caring that it was stained with blood, not caring that ghouls could come at any second. Jongdae watched, realized, and was hit with a memory…a memory of himself when he was younger, of Baekhyun when he was younger, of Minseok when he was younger and alive. During their first battles, he and Baekhyun had begged Minseok to leave a post he was ordered to defend alone because the light fairies were coming, but he had said to not worry, to not worry, to not worry, to go first and he would follow.

“No,” Yifan shook his head, his circlet hanging crookedly off of his head, though the light that shined in from the fragmented, broken glass illuminated the crown of his head spectacularly enough. “I can’t leave the rest of the light fairies. I should see if there’s anyone left and lead them out.”

“Yes, you _can_ ,” Sehun desperately said, tugging Yifan’s arm with his whole strength. But Yifan was always stronger, Sehun always softer, so Yifan remained. “Everyone’s just going to die anyways…so just _go_.”

“Oh, Sehun,” Yifan smiled crookedly, “You’ve never wanted the throne, haven’t you? But it’s mine now…has been mine for the last five years, so I guess I’d better start acting like a king…whatever that means.”

King Yifan was, and king he would be remembered as. He was not unlike Kyungsoo’s earlier years as king when he was still mourning his father, when he was still hopeful the war would end soon, when he was still insistent that no unnecessary casualties were needed, never needed. Jongdae didn’t know if this was selfless, dutiful, or dangerous, as honestly the whole entire light fairy line of rule would rest upon Sehun if Yifan were to die here today…Prince Sehun who didn’t want the throne, never wanted the throne.

“If you don’t go,” Sehun said before he took a shaky breath, “Then I will go with Jongdae now.”

“Why?” Yifan asked, the question not holding any ill will but just genuine curiosity, “Because you love him?”

“No,” Sehun said as he left Yifan’s side and walked back to Jongdae. Jongdae didn’t say anything, didn’t feel anything except the smoothness of his skin as Sehun slipped his hand into his and grasped it tightly. It was alright. There would be time for that later. As much time as this war would allow anyways.

But the next words Sehun said had Jongdae wishing…desperately wishing that if things could not be different, perhaps one day in the future they could leave together, leave this war behind, leave their wings behind and live…

Live not as two fairies, one dark, one light,

But Jongdae, Sehun, who lived well, lived right.

“But I will.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Oh my _God_ ,” a man drunkenly interrupted, throwing himself over the bar in distress, arms splayed as he cried out, “Oh my _God_ they love each other so much.”

“ _Almost_ ,” another man said, leaping over the bar to elbow him, “Almost, almost, _almost_.”

“This is true love. When will my wife treat me as well as that?” a woman wept, “Both surviving together…oh my _god_.” Jongin quietly and subtly pried the tankard of beer from the woman’s fingers. That was more than enough.

“I don’t care who wins the free drink at the end,” a woman loudly said, “This good stranger’s already won best story of the _year_.”

“It’s not hard win that since all of you fools don’t know how to tell good stories,” another woman chortled.

“Suit yourself. _I’m_ still going to win that free drink,” someone else slurred.

The sun was almost rising, so it would be wise to stop everyone from drinking now, and Jongin quietly wove in and out, dodging past the drunken people as he pried tankards from their grasps. All this time the hooded stranger sat quietly, waiting for the people to finish interrupting. Jongin paused, fingers hovering over the stranger’s barely touched cup. He decided to leave it. After all, the stranger seemed perfectly sober.

“Hey,” Jongin called out, hands, arms full of tankards, “Let him finish. It’s almost sunrise, and we’re still here.”

“Ah, the sun,” the hooded stranger chuckled, “mercilessly dies, but still does it rise.”

Jongin wanted to ask something…to ask what he meant…but he simply lowered the tankards he held onto the inner section of the bar.

“Can you continue your story? I want to know what happens next,” Jongin asked, motioning for all the drunken people to quiet down.

“Of course,” the hooded stranger said, grabbing his drink for a moment though he left it untouched, and finally spoke again.

 

 

ϟ

 

The journey back to the dark fairies was long…tiring…Sehun reassured Jongdae that he would be totally fine with being nocturnal, as it would be safer for them to travel during the night. Now he fell asleep when the sun was about to rise, but that didn’t matter. He still woke up to the sun itself every day even though it was the moon that greeted him as it hung in the sky.

But even though Jongdae did his best to try and find previous battle sites, no one was there. The ground’s upheaval, the remnants of arrows and blood proved that someone was here, but where were they now?

“They must’ve gone back to the castle,” Jongdae said, recalling the information he heard in the light fairies’ castle. From what he gathered, things were going in the dark fairies’ advantage. “They usually head back if things are going well and if enough of the troops have situation contained.”

“Well with the destruction of the light fairy castle, I’m sure word’s gotten back and they don’t know what to do now,” Sehun said.

“I guess we really do have to go back to the castle…At least to look,” Jongdae said, pressing his lips together.

“Aren’t you excited to come back?” Sehun asked, “It’s been a long time since you’ve been back away from the battles and to the castle, right?”

Jongdae fell silent, not knowing what to say until he spoke.

“Sometimes I don’t know where I’m supposed to go. I think I’m a dark fairy…I _am_ one. But full-blooded dark fairies look at me and see the humanity more than the dark fairy. Sometimes they say I don’t look like either at all. Not completely dark fairy, not completely human. Two halves that aren’t enough to make me whole. So sometimes I don’t like going back from battles. Sometimes I don’t know where I’m meant to be,” Jongdae said. Even now his dark wings were hidden and his body covered under his cloak.

“Well,” Sehun said, “If you’re a dark fairy, then you are one. But you’ll always have a place with me. If you want. You have a place with me, Jongdae.”

Sehun remembered something he said from what seemed like ages ago even if it was just a few days, and with a stark shock he found that he had lied.

Because he did.

Yes.

He did.

The both of them fell into a fond silence where not enough words could possibly convey their sentiments, but they understood well enough what each other felt. And finally, days later, when Jongdae lead them to a magnificent dark mountain, this was it. They arrived at the dark fairy’s castle.

As they approached, Sehun didn’t know what he expected. Jongdae of course had been disguised when he first infiltrated the light fairies, so he had not felt immediately unwelcome.

So when he and Jongdae breathlessly trudged through the gates, he was not exactly unsurprised when they received the welcome they did.

“Jongdae’s _back_ ,” someone yelled from a mountain crevice Sehun couldn’t see because it was far too dark, and bells immediately began tolling to welcome back his arrival. Curious soldiers peaked their heads out of little holes in the mountain. Some scoffed and turned back inside when they saw Jongdae. Others looked surprised, as if they had not expected Jongdae to come back alive. But a small group of dark fairies immediately flew down to greet him.

“Jongdae,” one dark fairy cried as he threw his arms around Jongdae’s neck, “I missed you…so much. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Baekhyun,” Jongdae said, hugging him back tightly, “I’m glad you’re alive. I’m glad you survived.”

So this was Baekhyun.

Sehun took a moment to glance at Jongdae’s friend, grateful he had shown him love and companionship when so many other dark fairies had not.

But soon enough, a group of dark fairies had noticed Sehun standing tall with his golden wings sparkling under the dim light of the cave torches and drew their swords and surrounded him. Sehun had never been welcomed by anything like this, like dark fairies waiting to slit his throat, but there was always a first for everything. Nice.

“Jongdae,” Sehun called out, not really willing to interrupt his reunion with Baekhyun, but not really wanting to die right now either, “Can you…please—”

“Oh!” Jongdae said, releasing himself from Baekhyun’s grasp as he pushed aside dark fairies to stand next to Sehun, “Please don’t worry…He won’t harm you. Please lower your weapons.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun interestedly said, craning his neck as he looked over the dark fairies to gaze at Sehun who easily towered over them, “Who’s he, Jongdae?”

“Prince Sehun of the light fairies,” Jongdae said, though the mention of Sehun’s title seemed to have the opposite effect that was wanted because the dark fairies simply stepped in closer and raised their swords higher. Sehun admired how nicely their swords were polished because he could pretty much see his reflection from their metallic surfaces.

“I’m not a prince,” Sehun said, raising his head as high as he could not to seem any more noble but to avoid being cut, “Not anymore.” He didn’t feel like it, and what was there left to be prince of? Yifan was king already anyways. There was no need for him.

“Wow, Jongdae,” Baekhyun chuckled, “Kyungsoo’s not going to be pleased when he hears you’ve brought home a stray light fairy…a prince nonetheless.” He then gave some sort of a signal to the guards, causing them to lower their swords reluctantly.

“Kyungsoo won’t care as much when he learns what’s happened,” Jongdae said.

“Alright I’ll tell him you’re coming,” Baekhyun nodded, “Get down here in an hour or so for a meeting.”

Sehun let himself be led about the mountain in the meantime, already finding himself missing the sun’s natural light. These tunnels and their dim, fire-lit passages felt a little too…enclosed for him. But along the way, Jongdae explained that the mountain had been carved and shaped so that there were little caverns and holes and an extensive tunneling system. Apparently all dark fairy villages had a tunnel that lead straight to the main mountain castle. And apparently there was such a plethora of jewels in the mines and walls, that upon realizing they didn’t know what to do with the abundance, the dark fairies just let them remain in the walls untouched. It was interesting walking past walls that were so casually studded with rubies and precious gems Sehun barely recognized. Gems were precious to light fairies because of their rareness and beauty, but he suspected dark fairies probably used them as more casual ornamentations.

When he reached Jongdae’s room, it was just a small hole in the mountain with a little door studded with rubies separating it from the outside tunnel.

“How do you like it so far? Besides the dark fairies wanting to kill you? Sorry about that by the way….they can’t help it,” Jongdae said, offering Sehun a spot on his bed.

“It’s different,” Sehun said, sitting as he took in his surroundings. There was no sunlight anywhere, the only windows in his room only looked out to deep caverns and more ground, and it was a little stuffy, to be honest. He felt a little caved in, literally. “But I will get used to it.”

He would be fine since this was Jongdae’s home.

But honestly, it was a little hard walking through endless dark tunnels with no sun, but just fire for light, and Sehun was beginning to panic as he thought of the tunnels collapsing in on them and grabbed Jongdae’s hand for comfort and security when they later made their way back for the meeting.

“Don’t worry,” Jongdae said, noticing Sehun’s discomfort, “You will be safe here, and I’ll cut off the hands of anyone who wants to kill you. And the upper levels lead to an outside view so you can go there if you need some sunlight.”

Sehun nodded, trying to find the beauty in the strange tunnels that the dark fairies lived in. If this was considered their castle, then what were dark fairy villages like?

But eventually, they were summoned to a meeting, so Jongdae led them to a large room carved into the wall near the ground floor of the mountain. Sehun took a deep breath as they walked inside. People stared at Sehun’s wings so murderously and disgustedly that Sehun felt as if he could cut off his own wings right then and there to escape their stares. But that didn’t mean he shrunk behind Jongdae, no. Light fairy he was, so light fairy he would calmly present himself.

“Jongdae,” a young fairy said from the back of the room. A beautiful dark fairy stood next to him, her expression brightening as she saw Jongdae. She did not fly to greet him, but waved enthusiastically. “Do you care to explain what a light fairy is doing here?”

“This is Sehun,” Jongdae said, “Prince Sehun of the light fairies…and he means you no harm. I swear on my life.”

“Then I’m only half-assured,” the young dark fairy shook his head, “Since you are only half of us.” He sat on a chair not unlike Sehun’s father’s own one, but where his father’s was flashy and ornate with golden flowers carved into the wood, this chair was just intricately and so artistically etched with names, numbers.

Now Sehun who was severely and absolutely outnumbered and in the territory of his people’s long-standing enemies should have perhaps kept his mouth shut or at least thought about what he said to avoid pissing off the very people who would love nothing more than to slit his throat. But it was too late. Sehun already noticed the way Jongdae pressed his lips together and immediately opened his mouth not to defend his own self, but Jongdae, always Jongdae.

“If he says he’s a dark fairy, then he is. Stop with all this talk of your half-this, half-that language,” Sehun commanded, using his light fairy height to his advantage as he drew himself taller and taller, spreading his wings to full width. Everyone looked away except the seated fairy.

“Interesting,” the young fairy said, “Very interesting. Jongdae, do you care to explain how you brought home our enemy? Our enemy who has killed us for what…centuries and centuries?”

“You’ve killed us right back,” Sehun said, remembering how many light fairies he watched, beaten, bloody, broken. He remembered how many dark fairies Jongdae told him perished under the war. He remembered how many fairies had passed, nameless, forgotten. And he remembered Minseok. “No one is innocent here.”

“Sehun,” Jongdae began to hastily say before Sehun could escalate the situation, noticing how the soldiers nervously placed their hands on their swords. He didn’t feel like injuring his own brethren, so he hoped everyone would just fucking calm _down_. “Sehun helped me to discover the plot General Choi told us about, helped me destroy the weapons we found, helped me stay safe.”

“And you trusted him? So quickly? Why?” the young fairy said.

“Because…he’s Sehun,” Jongdae said, “Just Sehun.” And when Jongdae turned to look at him, his look spoke more volumes than his words ever could. Sehun gazed at him back, trying to communicate that it was him. It was Jongdae. It really only ever was Jongdae.

“Interesting,” the young fairy said, “Well I commend you for managing to succeed in your mission which we will speak about more shortly, but it wasn’t supposed to be this way, Jongdae. You were supposed to go in, figure things out, stop Yixing, and get out. Not…bring back _him_.”

“But it happened,” Jongdae said, his voice shaking a little bit, “I did everything like you told me to, but Sehun happened. And I couldn’t leave him behind…especially after the light fairy castle was destroyed.”

“Interesting,” the young fairy said again as murmurs swept throughout the whole room at the mention of the castle’s destruction, “Do tell us what happened, Jongdae.”

Jongdae spoke, and with every passing sentence, every passing remark of how the court had been dead…dead the whole time with their bodies as ghouls in disguise…of how the king had been dead for five years now…of how Yixing had been experimenting on dark fairies this whole time, the horrified whispers suddenly grew louder and louder until the whole room erupted into shouts. Sehun observed calmly, trying his best to stay calm as the reality of his situation was once again reminded to him.

“These ghouls…” the young dark fairy said, raising a hand to silence the room, “What are their weaknesses? Do you know anything about them?”

“I couldn’t kill even one,” Jongdae said, and Sehun recalled the way they had just given up and ran, “We’re lucky to have survived.”

“Maybe you didn’t try hard enough,” the fairy hummed, tapping his fingers on the chair’s armrest, “And now we have a new enemy with no information about them, and suddenly the light fairies are the least of our concerns. What do we do now...”

“We send scouts to find the ghouls…observe them and see if there is anything that can be done to stop them,” another fairy said from beside the seated light fairy.

“Good, Sunyoung,” the seated fairy said, “Send out scouts at once to find the ghouls…they can’t be hard to find. Jongdae, take a group of dark fairies and lead.”

“ _No_ ,” Sehun said, stunning the room into silence, “Why does it have to be him? He just…He just got back.”

“Because I said so,” the fairy said, “Because he is the most skilled. And because it is his place.”

“That’s not his place,” Sehun shook his head, “You’re sending him to die again, and—”

“Sehun,” Baekhyun interrupted, “It’s okay…I’ll go with him this time. We will come back. Please don’t worry. We do this all the time.”

“Baekhyun—” the young fairy warned.

“No,” Baekhyun shook his head, “I won’t leave Jongdae this time…You let Minseok go alone, and look where that got him. I’ll bring Jongdae back.”

Reluctantly, Jongdae bowed before beginning to leave the room. Sehun attempted to follow, but was stopped after the dark fairy pointed at him, causing guards to grab his arms.

“Stop,” the dark fairy called, “I would like to have a chat with the light fairy in private.”

“ _No_ ,” Jongdae said, stunning the fairy with his quick response, “Leave him alone…He just suffered great losses. He just got here, so please let him rest.”

“It’ll be fine, Jongdae,” the dark fairy said, the flames of the torches flickering in his eyes, “It won’t take long.”

“If you hurt him, I will never forgive you,” Jongdae said from across the room.

“What do you take me for?” the young fairy said, raising his eyebrows amusedly, “A monster? A _ghoul_?”

Jongdae threw one last look before leaving with Baekhyun. But not before assuring Sehun that if he needed him he would just need to shout and he’d be there. Even if he was to be sent off far away to search for the ghouls. Even if they would be apart.

“So,” the young fairy said as soon as the guards lead Sehun to the front of the room and as they were alone, finally getting off of his seat to walk towards Sehun. Sehun liked that his natural height advantage allowed him to easily look down at him when they talked. He liked looking down at this fairy.

“So,” Sehun calmly repeated.

“I think it was smart of Jongdae to use you to survive the light fairies…You helped him, didn’t you?” the dark fairy said, pacing in front of Sehun slowly.

“He didn’t use me,” Sehun crossed his arms, “I helped him because I wanted to.”

“Because Jongdae tricked you into liking him,” the dark fairy nodded, “It was smart of him. He really is the best despite his status. But now I’m not so sure his intentions are all straight anymore since he brought you back.”

“He didn’t trick me,” Sehun raised is voice a little louder, “Know your place. This is not for you to wrongfully assume.”

“Oh, but I’m king,” the dark fairy smiled, “It’s my business to make sure Jongdae’s intentions don’t stray away from our priorities.”

“But you don’t protect Jongdae, _king_ ,” Sehun argued.

“I do in my own way, _prince_ ,” the king said, finally stopping pacing to look at Sehun steadily.

“Not like this,” Sehun shook his head, “Not like what you do to Jongdae, what you’ve done to Minseok. I saw him, you know.”

“Minseok was a mistake. He should’ve fought harder,” the king said, turning away as his face tightened into something heavy before he released the expression and looked composed once again.

“Your own people aren’t expendable,” Sehun shook his head, “You may be king, but don’t you think of the people you’re sending off like that?”

“Small sacrifices to save a bigger population,” the king said, “It’s the hard decisions. It worked when I sent Jongdae first to General Choi, and he didn’t die. So it’s okay.”

And before Sehun could argue once again, the king switched subjects abruptly.

“You aren’t a king, so you wouldn’t know,” the king said, “Where is Sooyoung by the way? That was one of the conditions we set with General Choi…I assume she must be dead if she’s not here. It’s unlike Jongdae to disobey a command.”

“Sooyoung’s dead,” Sehun pressed his lips together for a moment before continuing to speak, “She’s been dead. She was the only one left petrified after Yixing tried to experiment on her.”

“Wow. General Choi will be utterly destroyed,” the king thoughtfully said, “I wonder if we can use that to advantage. I’ll wonder if he’ll stay to exact revenge. He would be useful here.”

“Have some pity,” Sehun shook his head, “Have some compassion. He just lost his daughter, and you’re trying to determine how useful he can be?” Even though the room was large and spacious, Sehun still felt trapped in these earthy walls and windowless space.

“It’s what I do to make sure most of us survive, Sehun,” the king smiled, “It’s what it means to be king, and you will never be a good one if you think of singular fairies instead of the masses.”

“Good,” Sehun said, “Because my brother Yifan is the king, so he’ll do all of that for me in order for me to attend to all the singular people you’re missing. One fairy forgotten here, one fairy sacrificed there, and suddenly it adds up and you’re sending off a thousand people to die for a thousand.”

“And where exactly is Yifan right now?” the king calmly asked, “Didn’t you say your castle was overrun and that you saw your own people torn to bits before your eyes?”

Sehun didn’t like whoever this was. He didn’t like this cold, calculated reasoning that he justified with saving his own people, and he never remembered his father or his grandmother the queen before him rule with this sort of stoic apathy.

“He will be here soon,” Sehun coldly stared in reply, praying, wishing, _hoping_ that Yifan was still alive. He _had_ to be. He was the only blood relation Sehun had left after all, so he _could_ not die. Sehun forbade it. “And then he will show you what it means to be a real king.”

“I’m interested to see, especially since he’s been ruling for what…a week? I’ve been ruling since I was fifteen. I am the king after all,” the king said, looking unbothered with Sehun’s slander.

“Then what is your name?” Sehun asked. If Jongdae had mentioned anyone, then Sehun forgot who the king of the dark fairies was. Perhaps he wasn’t that important anyway if he was easily forgotten.

“Kyungsoo,” the king said.

“I’ll remember that,” Sehun nodded before turning and flying away, flaunting his glowing wings as he left.

 

 

ϟ

 

Sehun expected General Choi to scream after he had been told what had happened to Sooyoung.

He had expected a loud, feral yell and an inconsolable rage that would have him tearing his hair and taking his angered denial out on the nearest fairy he saw. Because Sehun knew how much General Choi loved Sooyoung. After all, how many sun festivals had he spent when they were younger twirling her around and carrying her on his shoulders as she giggled and placed some of her butterfly clips in his hair? Sehun remembered when he was younger and watching them and then asking Yifan to carry him on his shoulders, too.

But the General Choi he hadn’t seen in a long time was brought out to Kyungsoo’s throne room, looking paler, gaunter than he had seen him last. Jongdae had returned his borrowed wings, so they fluttered, looking more dark than green under the dim light. He bowed respectfully when he saw Sehun, and after he stood up straight again, he eagerly looked around for Sooyoung. Sehun couldn’t bear to watch the hopeful way General Choi looked over the faces in the room, hoping to see Sooyoung. So he was grateful for once that it was Kyungsoo who had stepped into inform him that Sooyoung was dead, had been dead for some time.

There was no yell, no scream, no anything.

Because the only response General Choi gave was tackling a guard and stealing his sword with an anguished yell. But before anyone could stop him, he slashed not the guard or anyone, but rather his own self.

His own wings.

Without hesitating, General Choi cut off his own wings, the jagged stumps searing into his body, dissolving, disappearing as he screamed in pain, in anguish. And he lay writhing, contorted on his back, the last vestiges of his light fairy magic leaving him completely. The departing magic healed the remnants of any cuts, his bruises, but he looked emotionally even worse than before as he finally burst into tears, mourning Sooyoung, Sooyoung, Sooyoung.

And during this whole time, Sehun had raced forwards, knelt next to General Choi, but was unable to help, unable to do anything except stare.

His own wings twitched painfully as he looked at General Choi’s own wings lying motionlessly on the floor beside him.

“General Choi?” Sehun said, recalling briefly for a fleeting moment that memory of him happily dancing with Sooyoung at the summer festival a long, long time ago. “Are you alright?”

“Get out of here while you can, Prince,” General Choi hoarsely said instead as he grasped Sehun’s hand tightly, “You’ll be eaten alive.”

“But someone I care about is still here,” Sehun said, looking panicked at General Choi, “I can’t go.”

“Then go together,” General Choi emphatically whispered, “Get yourself away from these fairies, our fairies. Get away from everyone.”

But Kyungsoo had interrupted before Sehun could respond.

“We need an answer, General Choi. You know too much, you’ve seen too much, so we need to know how you will proceed from here,” Kyungsoo said.

General Choi laughed while tears still streamed down his face.

“I banish myself. I’ll freely leave on exile. Just give me a horse since I cannot fly anymore, and I will leave before you even notice,” he said, moving to sit up. Sehun quickly supported his neck and helped him.

“A pity,” Kyungsoo said, “You would’ve been useful. But I’ll allow it. Having one light fairy is more than enough to handle at one time, though I don’t think you count anymore.”

He snapped his fingers and guards left to bring him no doubt a spare horse and provisions.

General Choi threw his hood over his head, but before he left, he spoke to Sehun once more.

“Then make sure both of you survive.”

 

 

ϟ

 

Sehun was trying his best to make sure that the both of them would survive, but it was hard since Kyungsoo kept sending Jongdae off here and there for tasks.

He didn’t like how Kyungsoo sent Jongdae off first, always Jongdae, always first for the most dangerous of tasks, the riskiest of tasks like going to the frontlines, leading a scouting mission to hunt ghouls…. Sehun _hated_ it. And every time Jongdae had to leave for battle, he’d always sit Sehun down on the bed they shared in their room and try his best to remain calm while holding Sehun’s hands.

“Listen…I want you to know that if I don’t come back—” Jongdae would always try to say.

But he never got a chance to finish what he’d say because the solemnity melted into sweet sentiments and laughter as Sehun leaned forward to press thousands of kisses onto Jongdae’s cheeks until Jongdae had no choice but to smile.

“You’re coming back for sure,” Sehun said, upset he couldn’t come with Jongdae, “I’ll see you again.”

“I’ll see you again,” Jongdae echoed, the words sounding more certain as he said them again, “I’ll see you again.”

“Good,” Sehun nodded before pulling out a stone pot of mica powder. He could never send Jongdae off peacefully, but at least he could make sure he was safe. Motioning for Jongdae to pull up his sleeves, Sehun dipped his fingers into the cold powder before gently rubbing it into Jongdae’s skin. None of them said anything until Sehun was sure that he had completely covered every single inch of Jongdae’s visible skin.

And when Jongdae pressed a kiss to Sehun’s forehead in gratitude, he stood up, standing to get a better look at Sehun one final time before leaving.

But Sehun…Sehun was absolutely overwhelmed as he looked at Jongdae glowing and sparkling with his radiant skin, his shimmering chainmail as the lights of the torches danced and reflected off of him.

“What? Did I forget something?” Jongdae said, turning around to find whatever Sehun was looking at, but only causing the lights to sparkle harder, for him to shine brighter.

“Jongdae,” Sehun said, eyes wide and jaw open as he took in this sight with Jongdae in his full battle gear and glow.

“ _Jongdae_ ,” Sehun repeated, “You asked me what the sun is to me before…but I’m telling you I’m looking at it right now.”

 

 

ϟ

 

Sehun tried to keep himself busy when Jongdae left for tasks and sieges. But it was difficult because there weren’t any gardens for Sehun to wander in, no wilting roses for him to heal, no benches near glistening fountains to sit at, so Sehun just wandered around the dark tunnels, following a trail of rubies on the walls to keep his place. None shone as brightly as the rubies on his dagger though.

And finally when he could not breathe anymore, he spread his wings and flew upwards…upwards to the upper levels of the cave until he burst out an exit and breathed as he watched the sun right in front of him. He had missed it…missed the sun and he closed his eyes as he eagerly let the sun’s rays dance on his skin.

Sehun often sat outside to watch the sun, only leaving after the moon rose out of the sky to chase it away for the day. And even then, the tunnels seemed darker, the torches dimmer, so off he quickly walked, seeking out the company of anyone in order to stay calm.

The medical team could always use help, right?

And while Soonkyu, the head physician, was glad to have Sehun’s help, the dark fairies she treated weren’t always as enthusiastic.

“No, I don’t want a light fairy touching me,” a dark fairy screamed on the operating table.

Sehun laughed, “What…you want me to cut off my wings? Will that make you feel better?” But he didn’t and he managed to help hold the dark fairy down as they amputated his leg. Immediate pain triumphed over everything else it seemed.

But some dark fairies refused treatment all together, gritting their teeth in pain as they stubbornly swore they’d rather die than have a light fairy assist their treatment.

“Maybe it’d be best if you left,” the Soonkyu wearily said, “Don’t take it personally….most of these fairies spent their whole lives and had their friends and family killed by people like you.”

_Like you._

“Okay,” Sehun nodded before wishing that she would do her best to heal the dark fairies. He understood.

So onwards he’d wander again, looking into tunnels, peeking inside. When Baekhyun wasn’t sent off, he’d cheerfully lead Sehun around and tell him stories about Jongdae that made them both smile. Then he’d tell stories about Minseok that’d make them fall into a somber silence. And when Baekhyun couldn’t speak anymore, Sehun spoke and told him about silly stories about Yifan who was still most definitely alive out there somewhere.

But when Baekhyun was with Jongdae out there, both together, both fighting, both trying to survive, Sehun was left alone. Again. Being alone wasn’t that bad. He could get used to that, but it was better to be around others especially in such an unfamiliar place, and one day, he stumbled upon a room with thousands of shelves and endless scrolls and manuscripts spilling out of every shadow.

“Hello?” a dark fairy asked, “Oh you’re the light fairy….Are you lost?”

“I just…” Sehun trailed off, “I don’t know what to do here.”

“Any company is better than no company,” the fairy nodded, “So want to come watch me work? I haven’t had a visitor since…forever. I’m Irene.”

Sehun nodded and walked over to the main table where more manuscripts dried before hovering over Irene as she continued to write. He read some of what she was writing, scanning the document in confusion when he could not find what he wanted to see.

“Where’s Jongdae?” Sehun said, looking over Irene’s shoulder as she wrote the accounts that happened today. He saw his name, Kyungsoo’s multiple times, Baekhyun’s a couple….Sunyoung’s a couple more….But where was Jongdae?

“He’s…not here,” Irene said, lifting up her pen in hesitation.

“What do you mean not here,” Sehun said before pointing to Kyungsoo’s name and smudging the fresh ink, “He was there with Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Sunyoung as they discussed—”

“I’m under orders,” Irene harshly whispered, looking around as if they were going to be heard. But nobody else was there.

“Kyungsoo’s?” Sehun said, jabbing his name again until the first part of the name was smudged beyond recognition. It could’ve said Jung for all he knew.

“He says,” Irene whispered, “that although he’s fond of Jongdae and trusts him, dark fairy history should remain for the dark fairies only. It doesn’t mean I agree, but—”

“All of you do know he’s a dark fairy, right,” Sehun stared, unable to comprehend this twisted logic, “He has your wings…your blood…Does that not make him a dark fairy, too? If you’re willing to consider him fully human instead of just half, then he is also fully dark fairy.”

“I’m under orders,” Irene said, but thoughtfully dropped her pens, “I have to go collect more of today’s data to record. Feel free to read through our history if you would like. It isn’t often anyone actually visits this place or bothers to read through our archives anyways.”

“Maybe if you have time, I’ll tell you about the light fairy history that I remember,” Sehun nodded before Irene smiled and said she would love to record that sometime if there was time.

And so when she flew off, Sehun took a seat and pulled out the closest manuscript towards him and began flipping through the pages. This was an earlier account of the battle, who had lead, who had survived, who had died. There were too many names.

But none of them Jongdae’s.

They did that….they really did that to him. They really tried to forget all his help, his life, his existence.

So, Sehun glanced at the forgotten pen beside him and picked it up furiously and dipped it into the inkwell before writing into the margins and any space he could find.

_Jongdae fought in this battle. He was brave and he survived._

_Jongdae was here._

_Jongdae lead this battle with Minseok and Baekhyun. He was brave and he survived._

_Jongdae was here._

_Jongdae defended the dark fairy troops with Sunyoung. He was brave and he survived._

_Jongdae was here._

But even after his arm hurt, he kept on writing in Jongdae until the candles burnt out, causing him to race out of the room in panic. He barely knew where he was going when there was light, so cautiously he used the light of his wings to guide him out of the room and until torches lit the outside corridor.

From there, Sehun walked around, trying to remember which way was back to Jongdae’s and his room.

But along the way, he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because he soon found himself walking through a room full of rows and rows of sleeping dark fairies. That was odd…didn’t they all have their rooms here?

But as Sehun bent down to examine one, he realized that they were just dead.

Sehun steadied himself and kept his head high as he walked through the room, not once looking down, not once losing his nerve. This was normal. This wasn’t supposed to be normal, but this was normal. This was real. This happened all the time so he should have been used to it by now.

But when he finally reached his room, his breath caught in his throat as he saw a figure laying in their bed.

Jongdae was back.

Holding his breath, Sehun walked closer and closer, hoping and praying because Jongdae looked so much like those rows and rows of dark fairies he had walked through earlier.

Gently, he sat on the edge of the bed as he gazed at Jongdae. For a second he panicked until he saw Jongdae’s chest rise and fall. And even though Jongdae had done nothing, Sehun cried, trying his best to suppress his heaving emotions as to not wake Jongdae up.

Because Jongdae was _breathing_.

Jongdae was _alive_ …what a beautiful, simple thing that was, and Sehun was so thankful that Jongdae survived.

Jongdae was here.

 

 

ϟ

 

Sehun marveled at how resilient Jongdae must have been, living as the only dark fairy in a castle full of light fairies that wanted him dead. Because he felt himself and his glowing wings stick out very much against the tunnels, the dark fairies, and while he did his best to ignore the staring, he could not completely ignore them or pretend they weren’t there.

But luckily, he would not have to wait longer for more light fairies to arrive at the dark fairy castle.

Because weeks later, one day when a group of dark fairy soldiers were preparing to leave in order to escort another troop back, someone…something relentlessly banged loudly on the front gates. Dark fairy soldiers immediately placed their hands over their weapons just to make sure they were still there as they tensely waited for an order.

“Jongdae, do check what is happening,” Kyungsoo said. Jongdae nodded and pulled out his sword as he stealthily crept to the front doors.

“Who is it?” Jongdae said, not knowing really what else he could do or say in this situation. Whoever was on the other side could not break in easily, and if they were dark fairies, they would have already figured out how to open the gate. So what else could he do but ask?

“We come seeking refuge,” the voice said.

“Refuge…Are you hurt? Who else is with you?” Jongdae asked.

“We’re running from the enemy. There’s about a hundred of us, and some need medical attention,” the voice said.

“Jongdae? Is that you? It’s me,” another voice said, and at this voice, Sehun strode towards the gate, hastily flying towards Jongdae, his heart beating wildly with relief.

“Open the door,” Sehun commanded.

“But… _but_ ,” one of the guards commanded.

“Do it,” Sehun glared, “They mean no harm.”

“How can you be sure,” Kyungsoo said, approaching at last.

“Because it’s my brother,” Sehun urgently said, “And even though this fool didn’t even bother stating his name first, it’s still him. It’s Yifan the king of the light fairies.”

But that was the wrong thing to say because suddenly every single dark fairy had pulled out their swords, wary and ready for battle.

“Well. Why don’t we just let him through, if this is really Yifan,” Kyungsoo said, “Just him. Raise the gate just a bit. And if anyone other than Yifan comes through, we will not hesitate to kill them.”

The guards obeyed and silently pulled up the main gate enough so that there was room to crawl through. And when Sehun saw Yifan, his brother, the king, crawling on his stomach to enter, he breathed. The first words that left Sehun’s mouth were not _Yifan, I’m so glad I found you again_ or _Yifan, I was so worried about you_ or even _Yifan, I’m happy that you’re alive_ but rather this.

“Kyungsoo, I fucking _told_ you he was still alive,” Sehun haughtily said, striding forwards with his wings fully spread to their full width before he pulled Yifan up and hugged him, bloody robes and all.

“That may be,” Kyungsoo said, raising an arm to hold back the dark fairies who had tensed and pulled out their swords defensively, “But who’s to say that he’s not a ghoul? If what Jongdae reported was true, then we could very well be looking at a group of disguised ghouls ready to tear everyone apart.”

“We’re not,” Yifan pleaded, dropping his sword as he raised his hands, “There are many wounded, injured, and others suffering so please…let us in. I swear as a light fairy that we mean no harm and we only seek refuge.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me,” Kyungsoo said, mind already calculating the easiest way to minimize casualty were this to end badly. He didn’t want to lose anymore of his own today.

“From one fairy to another,” Yifan said, “Trust me.”

Somehow the circlet that he usually wore woven into his hair miraculously stayed put despite the dangers he had survived through.

“Now as nice as that may be,” Kyungsoo said, “That is not enough. I need proof.”

“Come on, Kyungsoo,” Sehun said, “You think I wouldn’t know my own brother?”

“You didn’t know that your father and the rest of your court were dead for five years, so I wouldn’t exactly trust your judgment, no,” Kyungsoo shook his head, and at that, Sehun finally quieted and conceded to Kyungsoo for this moment. Only this moment. Even Jongdae looked wary at Yifan, and though he acted similarly, if there was even a _chance_ that he and the others were ghouls, then he would not hesitate to grab Sehun, grab Baekhyun, and run. He had seen how unstoppable the ghouls were, how deadly they were, and he would not take any chances.

“Oh,” Yifan’s eyes lit up, “I’m not sure how to prove myself, but I can prove we mean no harm.” He turned back, bent by the opening of the gates, and passed a series of commands through his beaten, weary people who had bent down by the opening as well to receive his orders. From the opening, Sehun could see their glowing wings drooping and looking sickly under the shadows. Within moments, a few individuals pushed themselves through the raised gate, wearily dusting themselves off. Humans? No one had wings…but soon, the people adjusted their clothing so their dark wings sprung up. Yifan had saved some dark fairies along the way, it seemed. And when the dark fairies spotted Kyungsoo, they ran forward to greet him.

“Your Majesty,” a dark fairy said, dropping to a reverent bow, “I don’t know if King Yifan is a ghoul or not, but he did save my family and the rest of my village from the ghouls and allowed us to travel with him even though he had his own people to look after. We owe him a great debt.”

“You saved…you saved some of my own?” Kyungsoo said, immediately flying to greet the dark fairies. Even now, a light fairy could easily reach forward and cut off Kyungsoo’s wings and he’d be just like his father again. Dead. But Kyungsoo let his guard down for a moment as he reached a hand out to the dark fairy and pulled him up from the ground.

Kyungsoo stared at his people long and hard, saw the wounds inflicted from whatever that had left dark scars, saw the hunger that wracked their lean bodies, saw the weary fear that was etched into their faces deeper than any wrinkles. And he saw gratitude. So as king, so he would also feel.

“Thank you,” he said, turning to Yifan, “Thank you for not leaving them behind.”

“Of course,” Yifan said, relief flooding his features, and he finally relaxed, “Of course…”

“Tell your people to drop every single weapon they have here,” Kyungsoo said, pointing to a corner near Jongdae, “And we will escort you to where you will stay. For now.”

Sehun scoffed, immediately flying over to Jongdae just in _case_ some petrified light fairy might hurt him. He stood next to Jongdae, and while he wasn’t the tallest light fairy, he crossed his arms over his chest and sternly frowned at all of the remaining guards and light fairies that crawled through the gates and dropped their weapons at Jongdae’s feet. If these survivors did not recognize him by his appearance, they recognized him by his glowing yellow wings and immediately bowed to him, to Jongdae.

And while the light fairies who sought refuge spent the next hours getting treated for wounds and being fed, Yifan didn’t spare any moment to rest, opting to call a meeting with Kyungsoo to discuss peace.

Peace.

It was anti-climatic really. After centuries of war, Sehun would’ve thought that the kings of the light and dark fairies would’ve done something grand to make this peace treaty official…signing a document at least. But all they really did was acknowledge the gravity of the situation and move on. They were just ending one war and continuing the next, the war with Yixing and his ghouls. War after war after war.

“I will trust that putting our differences and animosity aside will be beneficial for all of our survival,” Kyungsoo nodded.

“And if we really cannot get along, then feel free to resume the war by all means, but my people have been tired of the war,” Yifan said, “I hope that this alliance will last.”

“We shall see,” Kyungsoo said.

 

 

ϟ

 

It was a bit tragic how well the dark fairies and light fairies got along despite their hostility and initial distrust. Because after they fought alongside each other during sieges, slowly began to eat and rest together, too tired, too hurt to care who they slept next to or ate next to, perhaps this was what it could have been like if there wasn’t any war to begin with.

Even Kyungsoo was cautiously generous towards Yifan, letting him shadow him around even though they disagreed about most things towards the beginning.

“When night falls, Sunyoung and I will head out with the first wave of troops, then –” Kyungsoo said at the last meeting before a planned strike on ghouls that were infesting a nearby village.

“Wait,” Yifan said, eyebrows deeply furrowed as he held out a hand.

“Yes?” Kyungsoo sighed, “This is…the plan. We’ve been over this a thousand times.”

“You fight on the front lines with your soldiers? Even though you’re a king?” Yifan asked.

“You don’t?” Kyungsoo asked, looking surprised, “What type of a king lets his armies fight for him? If these are your people, you fight with them and you die with them if you must.”

“Then what if you die?” Yifan said, “Then who’s going to be king after that? The light fairies don’t send their king because succession is always messy. It is better to have a king that can serve a long time.”

“Then I won’t die,” Kyungsoo said, “And besides…isn’t there Prince Sehun if you end up dying?”

The two of them looked towards Sehun, but he had already turned away, already flew away, the glow of his wings retreating down the dark tunnels. As king he’d have to care for everyone, Kyungsoo included. So king he wouldn’t want to be as long as this new war was occurring.

But the war wasn’t resolved even through Kyungsoo’s strategies because ghouls were still running rampant, and more often then not, crowds of light fairies and dark fairies would fly into the great hall, carrying supplies, injured, dead. Most of the time they were too tired to care they were working alongside their previous enemies. Or at least too tired to say or do anything…say anything except how the war was almost over except some twisted light fairy decided to make everything worse all by himself with these fucking nightmare ghouls.

Such ghouls had been ravaging villages of both dark and light fairies, and scouts reported Yixing leading them, so again everyone would have to fight.

But the losses were monumental.

After centuries of fighting each other, maybe they didn’t know how to fight anything else.

But honestly Yixing’s ghouls were created through dark magic with cruel intentions, so it should not have been surprising that it was hard to cut through their tough hide, to escape their snapping fangs, to survive against them. Fighting the ghouls like how they used to fight, on ground, was useless, as fairies were easily trampled and snatched up. So they would have to trust each other to not touch each others’ wings as they fought and lived how they used to.

“The air?” Jongdae asked, “You want to fight them from the air?”

“Of course there will be a greater risk to the dark fairies, but the light fairies will be at the front of the battle lines if that will help,” Yifan nodded.

“Nonsense,” Kyungsoo said, “Jongdae can lead a troop of dark fairies at the front. It will be fair.”

“The sky,” Jongdae said again, “But I can’t…I really can’t fly. You know this, so why do you keep sending me up there to die? My wings can’t fly.”

He looked not accusatorily at Kyungsoo, not hurt at Kyungsoo, but just a bit dejectedly curious. Sehun thought Jongdae was patient. Too patient. Too trusting. And look how Kyungsoo was using that trust, that desire to be accepted. And honestly if Kyungsoo was going to keep sending Jongdae to the front, to the sky, to his death, then there was only one option from here.

“I’ll be your wings,” Sehun determinedly said.

 

 

ϟ

 

So this was how Sehun went to war.

This was how Sehun went to war no matter how hard Yifan begged him not to, no matter how hard Jongdae pleaded with him to stay behind, to stay safe, no matter how much everyone looked at him as if this was a horrible idea. He was honestly near useless at sparring, and while he was effective enough with Jongdae’s dagger, the proximity required for that type of combat had high risks, as he could be killed before he was even able to get close enough to stab someone.

Eventually Jongdae had relented when Sehun showed no sign of leaving.

“You need to fly off at the first sign something goes badly then,” Jongdae said as they were departing for an ambush on the ghouls.

“No, Jongdae,” Sehun said instead, “My place is with you.”

He honestly would not leave Jongdae unless something else…something deeper, something darker, something dire, ripped him right from his arms.

But on the battlefield, Sehun was so good at holding Jongdae, flying him through the air, dropping him whenever he needed to fight, catching him whenever he fell. Jongdae didn’t need to even call for him or give a shout when he fell because Sehun was already there, always there to catch him and fly him back up while the sunlight or moonlight danced on their skin. He honestly didn’t mind anyone else, didn’t mind the screaming, the pain around him because he knew he could not save everyone. So when he saw ghouls tearing apart fairies before his very eyes, Sehun looked away.

He just.

He looked for Jongdae.

He. Looked. For.

Jongdae.

“I don’t suppose you’ll listen if I tell you to fly off if you’re attacked, right?” Jongdae often said after the rest of the troops retreated, the injured tended to, the dead covered.

“You already know,” Sehun nodded, turning to look at Jongdae so he would not have to look at the other sights around them, “You already know that I won’t leave you unless there is no choice.”

It wouldn’t be his choice, of course.

And after the first series of attacks ended, they trudged back, tired, exhausted. The light fairies flew ahead while the dark fairies walked, still finding it a defensive reflex to hide their wings even now. But when they all gathered to rest or to eat at the campsites, Kyungsoo always called Jongdae to be first lookout. While sometimes Baekhyun intervened and took his spot, Kyungsoo didn’t always let him.

Like today.

Like today when Kyungsoo sent out Jongdae to watch for any ghouls even though the wind was merciless and the skies were gray.

It wasn’t as if Jongdae could feel any of the cold anyway, but Sehun had stubbornly insisted on sitting with him.

“Go inside, Sehun,” Jongdae gently urged him from where he stood, “You’ll freeze.”

“I won’t leave,” Sehun said, looking up from the ground where he sat with such a desperately genuine look, “I won’t leave. You.”

“Sehun, I’ll be fine, really,” Jongdae said, though he felt so…unbelievably touched, “Dark fairies can’t feel temperature, so I’ll be fine.”

“You can’t make me go,” Sehun shook his head, though he shivered at the gusts of wind that rushed straight at him and tousled his hair wildly. And not even moments after he spoke, the storm clouds immediately began pouring rain onto them.

“Oh! Oh no,” Sehun said, raising a hand to shield his face as he gazed at the sky, “I can’t fly when my wings are wet…”

Sehun tried to pull his robes tighter together, already thinking of how long it would take to dry his wings until a shadow spread over him. Curious, Sehun looked up to watch as Jongdae silently took off his tunic to drape over Sehun’s shoulders. Too cold to protest, Sehun gratefully accepted Jongdae’s tunic and pulled it tighter around himself. But when Jongdae stepped closer and spread his freed wings over him to protect him from the rain, Sehun realized everything. And though the gray clouds covered the entire horizon and though the shadow of Jongdae’s wings hid Sehun from the light, Sehun still swore he saw the sun right now right here right above him.

“Oh, I do,” Sehun breathed, “Oh my _God_ , I do, I do, I _do_.”

If Jongdae was puzzled with Sehun’s words, he didn’t ask, but simply continued to stand above Sehun and shield him from the wind while silently continuing to keep watch for ghouls that would not come today.

“My wings are too small to fly,” Jongdae said, raindrops splashing on his skin, “But at least they’re good enough for this. For you.”

“Jongdae, they are always good enough,” Sehun said, not sure if the drops of water that danced on his face were raindrops or something else before he repeated himself, “But oh, I do. I do.”

 

 

ϟ

 

The continuing attacks on the ghouls were not faring well in the fairies’ favor.

Sehun still counted battles a victory when Jongdae came back safely, but apparently to Kyungsoo their situation was dire. Countless fairy villages were destroyed, and sometimes the armies arrived too late to save anyone, stumbling upon shredded remains and scorched ruins. But it wasn’t always just fairies against ghouls, ghouls against fairies. There was one fairy that would appear at the ghouls’ sides after all, flying with his dark purple wings as he urged the ghouls onwards. Maybe this fairy wanted to witness firsthand the destruction his creations caused. Maybe he was there to ensure that no one remained after the ghouls destroyed countless village after village. But whatever his reason, still, the first time Sehun encountered this fairy again, it was easy to say this fairy was more stunned than Sehun was.

“You survived?” the fairy yelled across the wind, looking shocked for a moment as he caught a sight of Sehun and Jongdae flying past him.

Oh.

Fuck.

 _Yixing_.

Jongdae was concentrating on which ghoul he should land upon, so it had been Sehun who answered.

“Yeah, so you better fucking watch out,” Sehun shouted, not even hesitating to process who he had just seen or to think about what he would say as he swooped downwards to drop Jongdae onto a ghoul, “I’ll kill you one day.”

“I’ll kill you one day, Yixing,” Sehun repeated, tearing his gaze away from Yixing for a long moment as he made sure Jongdae landed safely on the ghoul. He continued watching Jongdae as he wove in and out of the ghoul’s thrashing limbs and snapping fangs. The ghoul roared in anger, leaping onto the nearest tree as it attempted to shake Jongdae off of it, but Jongdae was strong and clung tight.

“Oh my _god_ , good for you,” Yixing laughed instead, drawing Sehun’s attention briefly away from Jongdae. Yixing looked happier than before, a bright grin on his face as his dark purple wings fluttered excitedly. Whether or not it was because Yixing was genuinely glad to see him or he was just glad to see his ghouls tear apart countless fairies, Sehun didn’t know. But he also didn’t fucking care.

“Fuck off,” Sehun shouted, half the volume of his voice lost across the wind. Below him, the ghoul continued to try and shake Jongdae off of its body, but Jongdae continued to hang on, attempting to maneuver his sword and stab the ghoul in its most vulnerable parts.

“Of course you survived,” Yixing clapped his hands together, ignoring Sehun, “Good. I expected this. You’re too stubborn to die.”

If Jongdae was not here, if he didn’t have to watch Jongdae carefully as he climbed over the ghoul and strategically fought it, Sehun would have loved to fly ahead and stab Yixing right then and there.

But Jongdae _was_ here, so Sehun gritted his teeth, flew downwards to catch Jongdae when he fell after successfully critically injuring the ghoul, and promised he would kill Yixing another day.

“I must say it has been my pleasure to see you again today, Prince,” Yixing called out, his dark wings looking blacker in the night, “Send my regards to Yifan, and I’ll see you again. So farewell, farewell, long live, and farewell.”

With that, Yixing flew off, causing his ghouls to finish whatever kill they were in the middle of before they lunged after Yixing, retreating into the night. Sehun watched him leave in the distance, his heart beating wildly, his arms tightly secured around Jongdae.

Soon after, Sehun grew accustomed to encountering Yixing whenever he flew with Jongdae to fight those ghouls, and each time, Yixing swore he would have to try harder to kill them both, kill them all. And each time, Sehun swore he would have to try harder to kill Yixing, kill them all, too. But Yixing’s attacks, as every fairy soon knew, were random. There was no logic, no scheduled hour, no methodical times in which he struck. But more often than not, an attack was to be expected in the morning, and another was expected at night. So slowly, light fairies and dark fairies started to fight separately in their own proper times. Light fairies fought when the sun hung high and radiated its light, and dark fairies emerged when it grew dark and the stars shone bright.

Perhaps this was how it could have been once again had there been no war.

But still, these countless casualties were still too much for Kyungsoo to tolerate, so he was growing…not exactly desperate. He would kill before anyone would accuse of him of panicked desperation. But he was concerned. Concerned for the future of the fairies. So he called an emergency meeting, claiming he had a plan.

Whenever Kyungsoo said plan, he probably meant Jongdae.

So whenever Kyungsoo said plan, Sehun thought _haha, fuck_.

So whenever Kyungsoo said plan, Sehun made sure to show up early with Jongdae, arms crossed as he sat himself down on a sculpted stone chair, spreading his glowing wings to their full width and sitting up straight while he glared at Kyungsoo whenever he finally entered the room.

“Hello, Jongdae,” Kyungsoo nodded as he flew in, landing nimbly on his feet before sitting on his throne, “And you, Prince Sehun.”

Sehun bit back a reply as Kyungsoo dropped his gaze to the manuscripts he held in his hand, revising the meeting’s notes while Sunyoung joined him and stood on his right side, Yifan emerging from the torch-lit side entrance to join him on his left. Moments later, several more officials entered, Baekhyun flying in with a smile as he slapped Sehun’s back and leaned forwards to tousle Jongdae’s hair before sitting next to him. And just when Sehun thought the meeting would start, two more light fairies flew in, excitedly slapping each other, obviously both newly promoted fairies.

One of them flashed Yifan a thumbs up before the both of them laughed again and bowed first to Yifan and then to Kyungsoo. But once they caught sight of Sehun and his impassive face, his crossed arms, his glowing wings, they sobered for a moment, dropping into the deep, reverent bows they had not shown Yifan or even Kyungsoo. But immediately after they straightened, one of them pointed at Jongdae with his jaw dropped open as he repeatedly nudged his friend.

“Oh my _god_!” the light fairy said, continuing to point at Jongdae, “Younghyun, it’s Jongdae!”

“Jae, oh my _god_ ,” Younghyun loudly whispered, “Damn!”

“ _Damn_ ,” Jae loudly whispered as they approached Jongdae.

Jongdae knew these light fairies?

Apparently he did, because Sehun watched as Jongdae leapt to his feet with a bright smile and slapped Jae’s and Younghyun’s backs as he told them he was happy they were alive.

“I knew it! No wonder you didn’t fly,” Jae lightly slapped his forehead, “You’re a dark fairy!”

“I guess we have a lot to learn if you were out there fooling everyone so well,” Younghyun said, “But hey, now you can fly with us with your real wings!”

Both Jae and Younghyun looked so genuinely excited as they pointed at Jongdae’s dark wings, but to his credit, Jongdae good-naturedly smiled.

“I still can’t fly, but I would be happy to walk with you anytime,” Jongdae said.

Jae and Younghyun didn’t press the matter, just exchanged a confused look for a moment before nodding.

“Then we’ll walk with you anytime, Jongdae. We have to make sure our legs are strong like you said before,” Jae said, jumping up and down to show off his legs.

Sehun didn’t know these two light fairies, but why couldn’t more fairies be like them? Why couldn’t Kyungsoo be like them? Sehun looked over Jongdae’s shoulder, noting how confused Kyungsoo looked, as if he couldn’t understand how Jongdae was on good terms with light fairies. But as Sehun ignored Jongdae’s conversation with Jae and Younghyun about some Dowoon who had gone back home to bring his mother safely here, he continued staring at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo seemed fine working with light fairies, but of course he was still distrustful, keeping most of them at a distance. Most except for Sehun’s own brother. Yifan. But maybe Kyungsoo just pitied him, as he knew what it felt like to be thrust into a position of power when he wasn’t ready, was not prepared. Maybe he saw some vague fragment of himself in Yifan. Or maybe he also saw in Yifan someone to be used, manipulated to his advantage.

And Sehun didn’t like that.

He had seen how subtly Yifan had changed, from clumsily stumbling alone through his lessons to trailing after Kyungsoo mentally writing down everything Kyungsoo told him as if that would make him a better king. He had seen how easily Yifan who previously had to avert his eyes in the presence of the dead and injured would walk easily past them with Kyungsoo, not even looking down, not looking bothered. And he had seen how Yifan ordered and commanded now, calling out Jongdae to be sent first for dangerous tasks, giving Kyungsoo a respite from that task. Whether or not it was from the power of his throne or Kyungsoo’s influence that caused Yifan’s subtle change, Sehun didn’t know. But he didn’t care because a king was a king, and all, it seemed, were the same.

So when Yifan finally called the meeting into order and proposed this plan, Sehun wasn’t pleased, but wasn’t surprised.

“That,” Sehun spoke up when no one else did after Yifan explained his plan, “is the worst plan I have ever heard of.” Beside him Jongdae tried to stifle a chuckle.

Yifan’s wings drooped at Sehun’s words, but Sehun did not feel like sparing his feelings with lies. Too often had his own been spared like that.

“Why? I came up with this plan with Kyungsoo,” Yifan said.

“Ah, Kyungsoo,” Sehun said, flicking his gaze from Yifan to Kyungsoo, “Of course I’m not surprised. Who else would approve of a plan that calls for three fairies? Only three fairies to be sacrificed as they brave through countless ghouls…all for—”

“All for Yixing,” Kyungsoo calmly responded, “So if it is three we sacrifice, then three it is. Too many fairies sent would call attention. So our armies will distract most of the ghouls while these three shadow Yixing and kidnap him. And bring him here.”

“I just think it’s funny that you finally upgraded to three fairies rather than just one. What a difference,” Sehun gestured. The rest of the room sat silent, watching the exchange unfold.

“You’re forgetting the point,” Sunyoung answered, “Three fairies to forcibly capture Yixing and bring him here. Don’t you know how much of an advantage that would give us? We could force him to tell us the ghouls’ weaknesses, how to destroy him. We could end the war.”

“Yeah, and then another one will start. And then another one. And then another one. So the point is,” Sehun argued “Is that you’re willing to send off three fairies, and I fucking _bet_ you that one of them will be—”

“Me,” Baekhyun interrupted, standing up from his seat, “It’ll be me. I’ll go.”

“Baekhyun,” Jongdae started to say before Kyungsoo interrupted.

But unlike those other times when he could only say _no, this is Jongdae’s place or no, let Jongdae go or no, Jongdae will go_ , he said…did Sehun hear him properly?

“Okay,” Kyungsoo nodded, causing Sehun to have…nothing to argue for once.

 _What_.

“Wait,” Jongdae called out, “Send me instead…Baekhyun, just stay. I’ll—”

“Nah I’ve got this,” Baekhyun interrupted Jongdae with a grin, “How many times have you been sent out while I had to worry and wait back here? You’ve done more than enough, so it’s your turn to worry about me while you’re safe. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” Kyungsoo announced, “Baekhyun…you go with…” He looked across the room to pick the remaining two.

“Jae and Younghyun,” Yifan offered, “You go with Baekhyun.”

“Us?” Jae looked up, stunned as he pointed to himself before turning to Younghyun.

“I mean, alright. I guess?” Younghyun said, but Sehun did not miss the brief flash of fear that crossed his face before it faded. He wondered if this was how Jongdae felt every time Kyungsoo made him go first.

“Sit down, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said as Jongdae opened his mouth to protest again, “Please, just let us go. You’ve always done more than enough.”

With that, Jongdae remained silent, Sehun placing a hand over his to make sure that he’d stay, he’d really stay.

Jongdae did.

 

 

ϟ

 

So later that day, Baekhyun, Jae, and Younghyun departed to find the ghouls, crept through wherever they lurked, all to find Yixing to bring him back. Baekhyun had promised again to Sehun before he left that he would come back safely, come back successfully so Jongdae would not have to join him in this risky mission. But Sehun had said nothing, only offering Baekhyun a quick hug and a wish of luck.

He couldn’t exactly relax because there was always some chance that Kyungsoo would call Jongdae for another mission. And another one. And another one. There would always be risky things Jongdae would be commanded to do, always chances that he would not come back after being sent off.

But in the meantime, the armies flew at the ghouls full force, full power, seeking to draw out more and more ghouls so Baekhyun, Jae, and Younghyun would have less ghouls to sneak through. And while Sehun was only here for Jongdae, that didn’t mean that the ghouls would spare him any less. Truly he only realized the full extent of the terror these ghouls could inspire when some of them leapt at him in the air.

It was his fault, of course, that he had only been paying attention to Jongdae, but he was grateful that his reflexes were fast enough to only feel the hot, panting breath of the ghouls and fly away before those fangs dripping with blood had any chance to snap at him. Ghouls were relentless, though, and one missed attack would not deter a ghoul from chasing after Sehun, repeatedly slashing through the air as Sehun flew higher, flew sideways, flew upside down to avoid dying.

Of course, there were times when the ghouls would finally catch him, trapping him within their claws before trying to lean in to bite Sehun’s head off his body. To his credit, Sehun managed to stay mostly calm in these situations, ignoring the pain if his body was scratched or pierced and letting out only one yell instead of a long, continuous scream before he would come to his senses, manage to slide out his dagger, and stab the ghoul in the eyes repeatedly until the claws that trapped him loosened enough for him to breathlessly fly away.

Eyes were one of the most vulnerable parts of the ghouls as well as its soft, guarded abdomen where no scales grew, Sehun soon found out. Jongdae could skillfully reach a ghoul’s abdomen with his sword, but Sehun had to settle for the eyes.

But other fairies were less lucky than he was, and more often than not, Sehun saw fairies either impaled to death by the claws or so trapped that they could not move their arms to swing their swords before they disappeared into the jaws of the ghouls.

As days soon flew by with no return of Baekhyun, Jae, or Younghyun and no word from them, Sehun soon became restless, realizing that if they failed, Jongdae would be next.

On the first week, Sehun caught Kyungsoo and Yifan tersely talking in the archives room while Irene quickly wrote down those present moments that became history within seconds. But when Sehun entered, Kyungsoo and Yifan had ceased their conversation, and Yifan even went so far as to ask Sehun to leave since they were discussing something apparently so secret that even Sehun could not know. Sehun went, walked out without a further glance back, but made sure every night before he fell asleep that Jongdae was not gone and was still here next to him.

He was.

On the second week without any positive information or news, Sehun just _knew_ Kyungsoo was preparing to ask Jongdae to fly after them and complete the mission if they had failed. But of course whenever he obviously implied to Kyungsoo that he knew these were the plans, Kyungsoo would just shrug and impassively tell him that he just hoped the fairies sent to take back Yixing succeeded. If Kyungsoo would not directly tell him, then Sehun had nothing more to say, and so he spent his time making sure Jongdae had enough rest, enough time, enough life.

He did.

On the third week, Kyungsoo had called a meeting to discuss a plan, so Sehun had shown up first to make sure he would not miss anything that was discussed. Yifan began the meeting with a speech he probably and most likely spent far too long writing and much too long practicing about sacrifices and the greater good…whatever the fuck that meant…Sehun sat up straight, already prepared to fight whoever would try to drag Jongdae into another dangerous mission again. Jongdae sat tensely, as if anticipating what he would be asked next, though placed a hand over Sehun’s curled up fist to calm him.

He knew.

Kyungsoo then stood up, began calmly pacing around the room before stopping in the center of the room, commanding the complete attention of the fairies in attendance.

“It has been three weeks since we sent Baekhyun, Jae, and Younghyun off to bring Yixing back without any word from them,” Kyungsoo said, “Three weeks is a long time.”

“Baekhyun and the others will come back,” Jongdae spoke up, “He will come back. We’ll see him again.”

“While your faith in them is…touching,” Kyungsoo said, though the composed tone of his voice did not falter even once, “We need results. We need Yixing or we will soon all die by his ghouls.”

“You already sent out three fairies,” Sehun said, “Why don’t we trust them and wait for—”

“Sehun, _stop_ ,” Yifan warned, and though his expression remained impassive, his tone was much harsher than Sehun had heard him speak before, “Don’t you understand? If we wait too long, then we will lose much more than three fairies.”

Stunned by Yifan’s sharpness, Sehun fell silent for a moment. So this was a king.

Taking advantage of Sehun’s silence, Kyungsoo spoke and said those damning words.

“So to make sure that this plan does not fail,” Kyungsoo said, “We will send one more fairy alone to assist the others or complete the mission if they have failed.”

There it was.

So this was the power of a king.

But Sehun hated kings…hated who kings became, hated what kings demanded, hated the choices that they would have to make. King he could but never wanted to be.

“So,” Kyungsoo kept on speaking before looking at directly at Jongdae, “I will send out J—”

“Just wondering,” Sehun quickly spoke up, interrupting Kyungsoo before he just _knew_ what he would say. Whose name he would say. “If you and Yifan were dead—”

“Excuse me,” Kyungsoo said, raising an eyebrow at Sehun’s words as murmurs swept across the room.

“Sehun, what did you just say?” Yifan asked, stepping forward to stand beside Kyungsoo as his eyebrows furrowed.

“What?” Sehun said, wondering why everyone was so concerned, “It was only an ‘if.’”

“Those are strong words, Prince,” Kyungsoo said. The shadows that flickered in the dimness of the room contorted around his carefully masked expression.

“Anyways,” Sehun said, raising a hand out to speak quickly and loudly before he would be interrupted again, “If all the kings were dead, then how would their fairies act? Would they send off this one fairy, too? Would they have sent the three original fairies in the first place? Would they just have gone all together? What would they have done were there no kings to tell them what to do?”

“That’s…a good question,” Sunyoung spoke at last, looking pensive as she considered Sehun’s words. Today she did not stand beside Kyungsoo, but sat among the masses instead, “What would we do if there were no kings?”

“A fair question,” Kyungsoo admitted, “But if Yifan were dead, then you would be king, Prince Sehun. So all these decisions in our stead you would be making.”

“Then let’s say I die, too,” Sehun shrugged before Jongdae shot him an alarmed look.

“Don’t say that,” Jongdae tersely said.

“It’s just hypothetical, Jongdae,” Sehun said, “Don’t worry.”

“Just don’t _say_ that,” Jongdae said, reaching over to squeeze Sehun’s hand to make sure that he would not go, that he was here, that he was alive.

He was.

Sehun enjoyed feeling the warmth of Jongdae’s hand and squeezed it back before resuming his grand distraction.

“If there were no kings, then we would just have our assemblies and councils,” Sunyoung added, “So I suppose we’d just have to find an agreement within ourselves.” At that revelation, she looked up, looked away from Kyungsoo, and looked towards Sehun with a flicker of something dangerous dancing on her expression.

“So how about that then,” Sehun said, “How many of you would choose to send an extra fairy off? How many of you wouldn’t? It’s harder when it could be one of you, right?”

There was silence for a mere moment before someone timidly whispered that no they wouldn’t…and then suddenly another voice spoke softly…and then another voice…and then another voice until the room slowly became filled with whispers and choices of yes or no, yes or no, yes or no. Sehun smugly watched as Kyungsoo clenched his jaw, listening as more noes than yeses echoed around the room.

“But that’s just an if,” Yifan called the room into order, “Kyungsoo and I are still alive, so it is our authority that will lead.”

“Of course,” Sunyoung said, leaning back in her seat, her expression quickly shifting back to a quiet attentiveness.

“Now,” Kyungsoo said, “One more fairy will be sent since three was—”

“Are we back to this again,” Sehun said, “Really? Why don’t you—”

“And that fairy—”

“Listen, Kyungsoo, you—”

“Sehun, please be qu—”

“No, _you_ be quiet Yifan, you—”

“ _Anyway_ , that fairy will be—”

“Not Jongdae! Because we’re back! Guess who it is!” a voice called out causing everyone to turn to the door of the room. And sure enough in flew Baekhyun looking remarkably unharmed and unhurt for someone that probably had to claw his way through who knew how many ghouls. Immediately he flew in, not remembering to bow or greet Kyungsoo and Yifan as he simply leapt towards Jongdae and hugged him tightly. Following behind, Jae and Younghyun flew in escorting Yixing himself whose hands were bound in front of him. Calmly he smiled and nodded in greeting as the fairies around the room murmured to one each other, unsure of how to react.

“You’re still alive, Sehun. You’re still alive, Jongdae,” Yixing said once he caught sight of them. Guards relieved Jae and Younghyun from Yixing and forced him to kneel in front of Kyungsoo.

It was funny…to see the fairy who was responsible for ending one war and creating the next, the feared fairy who had lead the ghouls made from the fairies he killed, the fairy they had been trying so hard to capture for so long.

Here.

Kneeled down in front of them.

But he didn’t look lost, didn’t look even remotely bothered by his capture as he smiled and patiently waited for someone to address him.

“Yixing,” Yifan called out first, though fell silent after he did not know what to say. Yixing took a moment to wait for Yifan to continue his thoughts, brushing aside his neatly combed hair effortlessly even though his hands were bound. And when Yifan continued to say nothing, Yixing spoke, his wings fluttering behind him looking more like inky darkness than a deep purple under the dim lighting of the room.

“Yifan,” Yixing said, “So it seems you’re still king. Are you happy with that?”

“The only thing I’m happy about is that you can finally tell us how to destroy your ghouls,” Yifan said.

“And why would I do that?” Yixing said.

“Because we will not hesitate to kill you if you do not,” Kyungsoo said.

“Ah!” Yixing said, “You think I fear death? Then go ahead…kill me. What good will that do for you once my ghouls destroy every single last fairy on this earth?”

“You’ve lost. Now tell us how to easily kill the ghouls, Yixing,” Kyungsoo repeated.

“You really don’t get it,” Yixing said, “I’ve spent…years and years and _years_ perfecting my experiments…my creations. Do you know how many light fairies I had to kill to attempt to coax a ghoul to rise from their petrified bodies? Do you know how many times I’ve failed, left with nothing but dead fairies and the blood on my hands? I’ve worked hard for this, and you will not destroy my creations so easily.”

“Why do this though? Haven’t you got a heart?” Yifan asked, “I thought you were kinder than this. I remember you kinder than this.”

It was true. Sehun remembered earlier years when Yifan and Yixing had practiced sparring together, removing their helmets when they were finished to reveal flushed cheeks and wide grins…when he and Yixing had strolled through the gardens and Yixing had always listened attentively as he spoke about the different flowers…when Yixing had often recited literature and poems to the king and queen who both listened with their eyes closed and their hands clasped together. Where did that Yixing go?

“That was before my family was killed and I was left alone,” Yixing said. For once he did not smile. “That was before I realized that the dark fairies always insisted on continuing this senseless war, the light fairies always sent away _my_ friends, _my_ family to go die for what…This? _This_? No…it will be better if all fairies perish. We were not meant to last…we should not last if this is what we do to each other.”

“And that justifies you doing all of this… _this_ to the rest of us?” Kyungsoo said, “You cannot expect us to take you seriously when you’ve started a whole new war and have killed too many fairies to count every day.”

“Don’t worry,” Yixing said, “I’ve designed the ghouls to never stop until everyone is gone. Then this war will end, too. Isn’t it perfect?”

Horrified whispers echoed across the room, and Kyungsoo raised a hand to silence everyone.

“What can we offer you in return for information about the ghouls that would help us have even a chance?” Kyungsoo said.

Yixing fell silent for a moment, contemplating his options, his actions before he nodded.

“I will help you if you meet my terms,” Yixing said.

“Fine,” Kyungsoo said, “What are they? Be reasonable.”

“Well firstly, please rid everyone from the room except for you and Yifan. We’ll talk alone first. I’d like that. And once you meet my demands, you will know what it takes to stop a ghoul,” Yixing said.

So Sehun watched as Kyungsoo who was more accustomed to giving orders than following them listened as he ushered everyone out of the room. And though Yixing had not even given them a definite answer, the fairies exiting the room relaxed, the hope of the situation lifting their wings, their lips, their hearts. Sehun, too, smiled as he hoped the war would turn in their favor after this. And if the war would turn in their favor, then there was no need for Jongdae to be sent out first always. And if there was no need for Jongdae, then they could do whatever they wanted.

“Hey,” Sehun said, optimistically turning towards Jongdae as they waited outside the room in the tunnels, “Now that Yixing’s been caught, let’s go. You remember right?”

Jongdae turned to look at him, hope fluttering on his expression.

“Of course I remember,” Jongdae said, reaching forward to grasp Sehun’s hand, “But can we really leave now? What about Baekhyun and—”

“It’s not like we’ll be gone forever,” Sehun shrugged, “We can always come back, right? We can just have a long vacation travelling through human lands and come back home when we’re done.”

“What if we never want to go back?” Jongdae amusedly asked.

“Then I guess we’ll just never come back,” Sehun nodded before grinning, “Humans! Can you believe it? I’m so excited…I want to know what they’re like. If they’re anything like you, then I really will never return here.”

“Oh, Sehun,” Jongdae laughed, “I’m sure there’s awful humans here just like there are awful fairies…drunk humans…kind humans…But I guess we’ll find out for ourselves.”

“Then…let’s go,” Sehun stood up excitedly, already flying ahead of himself as he thought of how much fun they would have together away from here. He didn’t exactly know what human lands were like, what humans aside from Jongdae were like, but as long as he was with Jongdae, that was more than enough. “Let’s—”

“Jongdae,” a voice interrupted, immediately extinguishing Sehun’s excitement, “Sehun. Come back in. There’s a new plan.”

Sehun and Jongdae were the last to be recalled into the room. And once they arrived, Sehun immediately knew something was wrong from the stony expressions of the fairies, how uncomfortable Baekhyun looked, how conflicted Sunyoung looked, how smug Yixing looked.

What had they discussed?

“What Yixing has shared with us,” Kyungsoo said, “Is that there is one ghoul he uses to control the rest. This ghoul manifested from the body of the late light fairy king before Yifan, so if we destroy this ghoul, the rest of the ghouls will be weakened.”

“So we will send out one lone fairy accompanied by a group of others to kill this king ghoul covertly while our armies distract the other ghouls,” Yifan continued, “With Yixing away from the ghouls, they are more rampant, more uncontrolled now, and we don’t know where all of them had spread.”

“So Kyungsoo’s plan of taking Yixing has backfired and now you want us to clean up the mess by picking unlucky fairies to go take out their king ghoul,” Sehun translated into his own terms.

“Oh, Prince you’re too good,” Yixing laughed from where he knelt, “But who will it be then? I wonder…which poor soul will lead this suicide mission?”

“No,” Sehun already said, shaking his head before anyone else could say anything, “No. You can’t. Don’t even think of it.”

“Sehun, if you are a prince, act like one and stop interfering or commenting uselessly,” Kyungsoo chided.

“Please,” Sehun asked, “Please don’t.” Beside him, Jongdae breathed.

“It will—” Kyungsoo attempted to say before Sehun interrupted him again.

“You can’t,” Sehun emphatically said, “Look at yourselves…how many times have you sent him away? Why don’t you go instead? Just please… _please_ not this time. Pl—”

“Sehun, that’s _enough_ ,” Yifan raised his voice, “The world has more than just one fairy in it, and you should know better. And if you are prince, then _act_ like it. Stop interrupting, stop complaining, and let things happen.”

The thundering of Yifan’s words struck and paralyzed Sehun for a moment…a moment that lasted long enough for Kyungsoo to slip his words through.

“Jongdae, it’s you. You’re going,” Kyungsoo nodded. Sehun could only stare for a moment before abruptly standing up, knocking his chair over in the process.

“Okay,” Jongdae quietly said.

“Do you regret what you’ve done now, Jongdae?” Yixing asked, his dimples flashing as he amusedly spoke, “You could’ve left me alone…left me to do my plans and perhaps lived longer.”

“No,” Sehun frantically shook his head, his hands trembling in fury, in desperation, in disbelief even though he had heard this plan so many times, “I won’t—”

“If Jongdae said he will, then he will,” Kyungsoo said, “Leave it, Sehun.”

“Accept this, Sehun,” Yifan said.

“Kyungsoo’s king,” Jongdae said, turning to look at Sehun. He had not raised his voice this whole time to defend himself even though he knew…he knew. “I can’t just say no. So if he really wants this, then…okay.” Sehun hated…fucking _hated_ how vulnerable and resigned Jongdae looked, and he did not bother to hide the disgust from his face as he glared at Kyungsoo who did nothing but stare at him back, a hint of triumph curling up the corner of one side of his lips.

So this was a king.

 

 

ϟ

 

“Your brother’s changed a lot,” Yixing said off-handedly to Sehun one day when he was waiting for the guards to move him to someplace more secure. It was of course Sehun’s luck that he stumbled upon him while he walked through the tunnels alone.

“You’ve changed, too,” Sehun said, not breaking stride as he approached them, “Perhaps you two aren’t so different.”

“Oh please,” Yixing said, “I’ve survived. He won’t. That’s good enough of a difference. And if anything, it’s _you_ who isn’t so different from him. He’s king and you’re king-to-be after all…I would wonder what you’ll be like as a king, but I know you’d be just the same.”

“Bye, Yixing,” Sehun said, ignoring Yixing’s taunting as he walked past them, “Enjoy your prison time. Although I know some fairies ready to kill you at any time, so if you’re bored, I can send them your way.”

“Is one of them Jongdae?” Yixing called out, making Sehun stop in his tracks.

“Don’t mention him,” Sehun said, keeping his back turned to Yixing.

“Oh…a soft spot,” Yixing said, “Interesting…Well, you don’t have to worry about me…I’ll be sent off to rot who knows where, so I won’t even get to touch him. But if I were you, I wouldn’t trust anyone around him. Especially your brother and his friend. Especially kings.”

Sehun kept his back turned, but his feet remained rooted into the floor as he listened.

“I bet they’ve plotted some subtle plan just in case this one fails,” Yixing continued, sounding far too gleeful for Sehun’s liking, “How do you know if this is the real plan after all?”

Real plan?

Sehun did not grant Yixing the pleasure of knowing he had succeeded, that he had caused Sehun to give in to his doubt, so silently, he walked onwards and tried to calm down and forget what Yixing said.

He couldn’t.

 

 

ϟ

 

Sehun’s concerns only increased as time flew.

It was already bad enough that Kyungsoo had sent Jongdae to execute a plan that might not even work, but he was sending him alone. Alone…with only the company of other fairies who weren’t even there to help him with his task

Sehun sat on a ledge that extended from the caves and into the outside as he watched the vivid, red sunset and thought about how uneasy this plan made him felt. Why did it always have to be Jongdae…And if it _had_ to be Jongdae, why did he have to go alone? Why had Kyungsoo prohibited Sehun from accompanying Jongdae? Why had Yifan agreed…agreed with this risky plan?

Shivering, Sehun stood and walked back inside the cave, turning his back on the blood-stained light as he accepted the darkness of the tunnels. It was too cold to watch the sun today.

As he continued walking through the tunnels, Sehun overheard familiar voices arguing, and curious, he pressed himself to the walls as he stopped to listen.

“This isn’t _right_ , Kyungsoo. We have to at least tell him…If you really think there is no other way,” Baekhyun angrily argued with Kyungsoo. Sehun clung to the shadows, hoping that he wouldn’t be seen if they were to walk outside.

No other way?

For what?

For who?

“He’ll be remembered for this. A hero’s act, and only we will know,” Kyungsoo answered.

“This isn’t _right_. This is _Jongdae_. How could you do this?” Baekhyun yelled, and Sehun winced as the sound of something breaking, smashed against the floor echoed from within the room.

“Calm yourself, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo curtly said.

“Are you serious right now? How can you throw him away so easily like this?” Baekhyun said, another thud silencing anything Kyungsoo could have replied with in that moment. Maybe Baekhyun slammed a table with his fist. Maybe he threw something on the floor again. But Sehun didn’t care…because Jongdae? This was about Jongdae? What were they doing with Jongdae?

“Kyungsoo…” Sunyoung said so softly that Sehun had to lean in closer to even hear her, “This plan…maybe this is too much. This…I don’t understand what you hope to achieve through this.”

“Then go ahead, go join him yourselves if you both want to die with him,” Kyungsoo answered without hesitation, his voice growing louder and louder until he exited the room.

With his heart racing, Sehun wordlessly watched as Kyungsoo strode away, perfectly composed, perfectly poised. Sunyoung did not walk by his side, but behind him as she crossed her arms. Moments later, Baekhyun appeared, slamming the door before angrily storming off.

Sehun collapsed on his knees, half of his body hiding in the depths of the shadows, the other half basking in the flickering torchlights above.

What were they doing with Jongdae?

He was only…supposed to kill the king ghoul, right?

Sehun knew he was missing something…something, and so taking a deep breath, he pulled himself to his feet and ran after Baekhyun.

And when he caught up to Baekhyun and asked if Jongdae would be alright, that this mission wouldn’t kill him, Baekhyun reassured Sehun that of course Jongdae would come back, of course Jongdae would survive. But he could not meet Sehun’s concerned gaze and excused himself before Sehun could ask any more questions.

Feeling bothered, Sehun roamed the tunnels until he followed that trail of rubies embedded in the walls that lead back to his room.

Jongdae was waiting for him inside, sitting on their bed as he was examining maps and scribbling notes in preparation for his solo task. For a moment, Jongdae didn’t notice Sehun’s staring yet, so Sehun took the time to admire Jongdae and the beautiful way his lips were perpetually curved upwards, the straight slant of his eyebrows, stunningly striking cheekbones…and the way he breathed. Sehun liked watching Jongdae breathe, tracing the movement of his chest rising and falling, rising and falling, rising and—

“There you are,” Jongdae said, interrupting Sehun’s thoughts, “Did you enjoy the sun? What was it like today?”

“The sun…” Sehun said, climbing onto the bed to sit beside Jongdae, “Today, the sun tore up the skies, slashed through that blue canvas before it bled streaks of red and pink.”

“Wow,” Jongdae said, lowering his pen, closing his eyes as he tried to imagine the scene, “And how did it feel like?”

“Today, it was windy, so I couldn’t feel the sun. It was just cold…so cold,” Sehun said, peeking over Jongdae’s shoulder to stare at the maps. And when he looked at the complex strategies Jongdae was plotting himself, Sehun tried to calm himself by watching Jongdae’s chest rise and fall, rise and fall, rise and—

“I’m still so curious though,” Jongdae said, opening his eyes at last, “What does it feel like? The sun? And its heat?”

“Here,” Sehun said, placing his arms around Jongdae’s shoulders, “What do you feel?”

“Just pressure,” Jongdae said, “A good pressure though.”

“Then let’s switch,” Sehun said, “Do the same to me.”

Jongdae moved to wrap his arms around Sehun’s shoulders, causing Sehun to sigh contentedly.

“Do you know you have heat, too? You’re already warm, already hot. I wish there was a way for you to look within yourself and feel it because I feel it so easily. I feel you so easily, Jongdae,” Sehun said, turning to look at Jongdae and feeling such devastatingly fond affections burn through him.

“I wish I knew what that meant,” Jongdae laughed, squeezing Sehun’s shoulders tighter.

“Okay, my turn again then,” Sehun said, gently removing Jongdae’s arms from his shoulders before mirroring the action. But this time, he leaned forwards, shifting his position so his chest pressed against Jongdae’s back, so his arms were wrapped completely over Jongdae’s chest. “Describe what you feel now.”

“I feel…content. Like…I’m safe. Like there isn’t anything trying to kill me out there, like if I close my eyes, I’ll see all the people I miss, like if I close my eyes, I could fall asleep feeling safe. And I feel you…I can’t feel how warm or how cold you feel, but I can feel your heartbeat, feel your arms around me in a way that’s just…right. I feel. Remembered,” Jongdae softly said, leaning backwards against Sehun to press himself more into Sehun’s body.

“There you go,” Sehun said, leaning over to kiss Jongdae’s cheek, “There’s your sun. There’s your heat.”

Jongdae fell silent, turning around and reaching forwards to press a hand to Sehun’s cheek. Sehun leaned into his touch, relishing in the warmth, the soft touch that Jongdae’s hand brought him.

“Jongdae, you have to come back,” Sehun said, remembering Kyungsoo’s and Baekhyun’s conversation.

“Of course I’ll come back,” Jongdae smiled in response, “Have more faith in me. How many times have I had to leave? And how many times have I come back to you?”

Sehun said nothing but merely continued holding Jongdae. He trusted Jongdae to come back, but he didn’t trust Kyungsoo…and whatever he was planning for Jongdae.

 

 

ϟ

 

Sehun noticed how fairies treated Jongdae even more differently than they had before. Now, many of the fairies couldn’t even look Jongdae in the eyes anymore when he talked to them. Many of the fairies became unnaturally nice to Jongdae, offering to give him extra portions of their food whenever he walked past them at dinner. Other fairies who once had nothing good to say praised him in passing. Jongdae wasn’t bothered, but Sehun was.

What did they know that Sehun didn’t?

So Sehun grew accustomed to hiding within the shadows to eavesdrop on any conversations he heard just in case they were about Jongdae…One day, he heard two fairies discuss whether or not this was a good time for a wedding. Another day he heard two fairies converse about how some critically wounded fairy had slowly begun to finally recover at last. And another day, he stumbled upon another conversation that did nothing but worry him even more.

“That’s not even right! You don’t even know if that will stop the ghouls,” Baekhyun yelled.

“Baekhyun…just let things be,” Kyungsoo calmly said, “This is our best option.”

“We don’t…actually know that, Kyungsoo,” Sunyoung spoke, “Maybe we shouldn’t place so much weight on Yixing’s words. Who knows if he’s lying to us?”

“After what we’re giving him, there’s no way that this is information is false,” Kyungsoo said before repeating himself, “This is our best option.”

“No, this is the cowardly option,” Baekhyun said, “And I can’t believe…you would agree to this, Yifan. I thought Sehun’s brother would be kinder than this.”

Yifan?

Yifan was here?

With that, Sehun emerged from the shadows and strode quickly through the doors and looked upon the scene. Upon his arrival, everyone ceased their talking. Baekhyun looked angry…frustrated, his fists balled up at his sides. Sunyoung looked troubled, her arms folded across her chest, her dark feathered wings fluttering in distress behind her. And Kyungsoo looked at him unconcerned, unbothered, but Yifan looked up in surprise.

“What are you talking about?” Sehun couldn’t help but ask, daring anyone to answer him.

“Don’t interfere with things you don’t understand,” Yifan said.

“I would understand…if you’d tell me what’s happening,” Sehun said. Baekhyun’s expression faltered, the anger fading as something…more fragile surfaced in its place.

“Jongdae is supposed to leave in three days, right?” Kyungsoo said, “Perhaps you should stay by his side until then. Stay out of this.”

“He wouldn’t have to go if you didn’t force him to,” Sehun shook his head.

“Kyungsoo is king…and those who aren’t must follow his orders and obey,” Yifan said.

“I never expected you to grow up into this type of a king,” Sehun smiled, finding everything so funny, so _funny_. “But then again…all kings are the same.”

“Sehun, if something happens to me, you’ll be king,” Yifan crossed his arms, “So you need to—”

“No,” Sehun shook his head as he took a step backwards. He had heard enough. “I will not be.”

With that, Sehun stared accusingly at Kyungsoo one last time before turning on his heels and walking away.

But within moments, a hand reached out to touch his shoulder. Turning around, Sehun was prepared to angrily yell if it was Kyungsoo or even Yifan, but when he saw it was only Baekhyun, he relaxed.

“Baekhyun,” Sehun said, “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

“Sehun,” Baekhyun shakily said, running a hand through his messy hair. He looked tired…older than he truly was, and the dark circles around his puffy eyes said more than any simple words could. “Take care of Jongdae.”

“I am,” Sehun nodded, “But what’s wrong?”

“Don’t…don’t worry,” Baekhyun said, though he sounded unconvincing, “I’ll fix it. I’ll fix this. Just look after Jongdae.”

“I am,” Sehun said, “But can’t you tell me? If it’s for Jongdae, I’d do anything.”

“Just make sure he’s alright. Make sure he’s alive. I’ll fix this,” Baekhyun nodded before sprinting the opposite way leaving Sehun still standing there, stunned.

 

 

ϟ

 

So Sehun continued taking care of Jongdae in all the ways he knew best.

On the first of the three days before Jongdae was to leave, Sehun brought a basket of apples from the castle kitchens to Jongdae. Jongdae had looked up in surprise, as he asked where Sehun had found these apples since there were no large apple trees around.

“I’m a prince,” Sehun said, “What you want, I have.”

So together they sat, eating all the apples they wanted until they grew content.

On the second of the three days before Jongdae was to leave, Sehun snuck them into the archives room. Irene was conveniently gone, presumably with Kyungsoo to record whatever twisted, inaccurate version of history he was telling her. And when Sehun showed Jongdae all the manuscripts that he had scribbled Jongdae’s name and presence in, Jongdae looked up in surprise.

“For me?” Jongdae softly said, tracing over the dry ink Sehun had furiously scribbled nights and nights and nights before, “You wrote me…into their history?”

“I’m yours,” Sehun said, “What you want, I do.”

The rest of the night, they sat together, laughing as they dipped their quills in ink and wrote in each other. Sehun continued writing in Jongdae, Jongdae, Jongdae, and Jongdae wrote Sehun into the dark fairy archives.

“This was the day I met you,” Jongdae said before scribbling a record of it into the margins.

“This was the day we left together,” Jongdae said before writing in what had happened on a different date many pages forwards.

“This was the day I continued realizing something,” Sehun said, writing in something Jongdae couldn’t read on today’s date.

“Realize what?” Jongdae asked.

“I think you know,” Sehun smiled before pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s cheek.

But soon the last day before Jongdae was to leave approached.

The night before Jongdae was supposed to leave.

Neither Sehun nor Jongdae could fall asleep, and Sehun’s heart was beating so loudly that he was so sure Jongdae could hear.

“Sehun,” Jongdae said, sitting up, giving up on trying to sleep, “I don’t want to go.”

“I don’t want you to either,” Sehun said, pushing himself up so that he sat next to Jongdae, “Can’t you stay?”

“I can’t,” Jongdae said, “Kyungsoo’s king, so I have to.”

“King,” Sehun said, hating the way the word sounded as he spoke, “Maybe I should become king so I can make you stay.”

“But you hate kings,” Jongdae said, “So I don’t want you to hate yourself. It’ll be okay. Keep your brother alive and remain a prince.”

“Jongdae, I’ll hate anyone, hate anything if it would mean you can live freely,” Sehun said, “And besides. I hate that title, too…Prince? Not me. King? Never me. I’m just Sehun.”

“My Sehun,” Jongdae said, reaching out into the darkness illuminated by a single candle to touch Sehun.

“Hey Jongdae,” Sehun said, “If I do have to become king though, you would be king, too. How about that?”

Jongdae rested his hand on Sehun’s chest as he contemplated Sehun’s words.

“Me, a king,” he said thoughtfully, “But I’m not even a full dark fairy, not even part light fairy. So king? Never me. I’m just Jongdae.”

“My Jongdae,” Sehun said, catching Jongdae’s hand to hold, “Then let’s just stay like this. You and me.”

“Sehun,” Jongdae said, “I really don’t want to go tomorrow. I don’t want you to see me leave. It’ll be too hard to say good-bye.”

“Please stay,” Sehun said, “For once…for _once_ just ignore orders and stay.”

“You know I can’t,” Jongdae said, hands fumbling in the dark for Sehun before sliding himself onto Sehun’s lap.

“Please stay,” Sehun repeated.

“Tonight, of course,” Jongdae said before leaning in and kissing Sehun so fervently, so fiercely that the only thing Sehun could possibly even do was hold him and kiss him and remember him back. His body blazed with the warmth Jongdae’s body provided and ignited those fiery sentiments in his heart.

And when they broke apart to breathe, Jongdae looked at him with such wonder in his eyes.

“Sehun,” Jongdae gasped, his hot breath tickling Sehun’s lips “I still can’t feel…I can’t feel this heat, but if it’s anything…anything like this burning in my chest, this buzzing on my lips, this rapid beating of my heart, then I’ve found it. I’ve come so close. I’m here.”

Sehun stayed quiet for a moment, taking the time to lean closer and leave a trail of hot kisses from Jongdae’s jaw to his neck. Jongdae breathed, tilting his head to expose more of his skin. And when he finished kissing Jongdae’s neck, Sehun just rested his head in the crook of Jongdae’s neck, pressing his lips to his skin before moving away as his hands wandered up Jongdae’s tunic. Did Jongdae feel this? Did Jongdae feel Sehun’s hands as they ghosted over Jongdae’s skin? Sehun thought that there was no way he didn’t just from the way he leaned into Sehun’s touch and gasped loudly.

Jongdae let Sehun lift up his tunic, freeing his beautiful, black wings. Sehun took a moment to look up in awe before Jongdae all but leapt upon him and gently pushed him back down on the bed. Quickly, Jongdae freed Sehun from his own tunic, too, before slowly taking his time to press kisses up Sehun’s stomach while Sehun breathed and ran his fingers through Jongdae’s hair, pulling when Jongdae kissed especially sensitive places.

And when Jongdae kissed his way up to Sehun’s cheeks, he stopped for a moment, hovering over Sehun to marvel at how well their bodies fit together. For a moment, Sehun just simply gazed up at Jongdae, noting the way that the reflected candlelight shone like suns in Jongdae’s eyes, the way that the pale red blush stained Jongdae’s cheeks like it was a hot summer’s day, like Jongdae could actually feel warmth, and the way that Jongdae looked so devastatingly fond at him as if Sehun was the whole sun himself.

But with Jongdae this beautiful, this burning, this bright right here with him and pressed against his body, Sehun thought that surely this was the sun right here.

And as if reading Sehun’s mind, Jongdae bent his neck downwards so that their foreheads touched as he breathed, as they breathed together, their lips barely pressing. From this close proximity, Sehun could feel Jongdae’s beating pulse. Jongdae was alive, was alive, was _alive_ …Jongdae was right here, and Sehun himself felt that something even brighter, even better than the sun was about to pound its way out of his heart right here and burn for Jongdae. Just for Jongdae.

“If this is the sun,” Jongdae said, chest heaving, hands moving to touch the side of Sehun’s face, “If this is the sun…then I am not afraid to die anymore.”

Sehun felt Jongdae’s breath hot on his skin and reached a hand out to touch Jongdae’s cheek with steady fingers.

“If this is the sun,” Sehun repeated, heart blazing, “If this is the sun…then I will fly towards its blinding fire and steal it away from the world for myself.”

If this was the sun, then both Jongdae and Sehun would not even hesitate to burn themselves to chase even the shadows and fragments of its light.

 

 

ϟ

 

The next day, Sehun woke up alone, as Jongdae already left to pursue his mission.

It seemed Jongdae was serious about not wanting to say good-bye. But that was no matter…it was better to say hello again, to greet him once he returned. Still, though, Sehun could not shake the feeling that something was not quite right. Fairies that passed him in the dark tunnels took a look at him, dipped their heads in reverence, but whispered loudly to each other when he passed. Sunyoung appeared conflicted, always seeming as if she was on the verge of saying something…anything to Sehun before pressing her lips together and flying away before she could speak. And Baekhyun wildly tore through the hallways, doing something…something. But what? Baekhyun often glanced at the clock, and he was so immersed in whatever he was doing and thinking that he could not remember anyone else existed.

Of course Kyungsoo looked the same, always impassive, always aloof, always the same. But Yifan…Yifan looked guilty, looking away when Baekhyun rushed passed him, looking down even when he greeted Sehun.

What was…wrong?

But no one would tell him, and even if they spoke, Sehun was not sure if they would tell the truth.

He briefly remembered Yixing’s words…Yixing’s words about a second plan, and found himself walking towards the prisons. Yixing could not be trusted either, but perhaps he had ordered something…something to be done to Jongdae through his terms.

Sehun descended down the tunnels, using a trail of sharp black stalactites to lead the way to the prisons. When he arrived, the guards looked confused to see him there, and though they were reluctant to let him enter, all Sehun had to do was flash his golden wings and down the guards bowed, immediately submitting to the prince himself.

Sehun waved off a guard who attempted to guide him around the prisons, and alone he walked through rows and rows of empty prison cells. It seemed dark fairy prisons were made from jagged, sharpened metals or rocks, and Sehun was sure that even touching one of the thin columns would immediately cause injury. Most cells were empty, save for a few dark fairies huddled in the corner as far away from the pointed bars as possible. Sehun didn’t know what they did, but he didn’t care. He was just here for one fairy…and finally at the end of the long rows and hallways of prison cells, he found that fairy with dark purple wings he wanted to see, and approached as close to the bars as he dared.

“How’s prison?” Sehun asked, standing above. At the sound of his voice, Yixing rose from the floor to greet him with a smile.

“How’s Jongdae?” Yixing asked, his smile widening so that his dimples appeared.

“Alive,” Sehun said, “Away from you. So don’t even think about touching him.”

“If I were honest,” Yixing said, “I would tell you that I often think about killing Jongdae to experiment on him. What could happen to the dead body of a human, dark fairy? Would something worse than a ghoul manifest? If Jongdae were a ghoul, I think we would’ve been friends.”

Sehun threw him a look that Yixing waved off.

“Don’t look at me like that, Sehun,” Yixing said, “Surely you wondered why would I bother talking to Jessica and Soojung about my plans, right? Surely you wondered why I made so much of an effort to keep the king functioning, right? Surely you thought I was mad, right? But if there was no one else alive, then to the dead I must talk, must fight. My ghouls aren’t just my creations. They’re mine. My friends, my enemies, my greatest accomplishment. You’re lucky I spared Jongdae from that fate, though I can’t promise what will happen is pleasant.” Yixing nodded.

“What did you do?” Sehun asked, using his voice to project his anger. Briefly, he wondered if reaching his hands through the sharp bars to punch Yixing was worth it. “What did you do to Jongdae?”

“He was included in the terms of agreement that I made with Kyungsoo and Yifan. After all, he was the one that exposed me…destroyed my tunnels and those shields. I wanted to use them, give them to the ghouls, but no! He destroyed my plans, so I’ll do the same to him,” Yixing said.

“Yifan?” Sehun said, “He agreed…He agreed to this?”

“Why don’t you ask your brother then?” Yixing said, “I’m sure he’ll tell you what happened.”

“He wouldn’t,” Sehun said, “He doesn’t tell me anything anymore.”

“Oh?” Yixing asked, raising an eyebrow, “Then what has become of naively kind Prince Yifan who was a fool for his brother? Who has he become now?”

Sehun fell silent, thinking of the time Yifan fell to his knees to help a panicking attendant clean up the shattered porcelain plates she had dropped, the countless times Yifan had eagerly taken the blame for things Sehun had done when they were younger, the other time when he had seen Minseok and walked away, unable to bear the sight. Who was he now?

“You know how it is,” Sehun said, “He’s a king now, and you know what a king can do, what a king becomes.”

“Ah,” Yixing said, leaning back into his chair, “I’m sorry for your loss then. He’ll never be the same.”

Sehun said nothing, not wanting to thank the fairy who murdered his people, who murdered his father.

“Jongdae just left,” Sehun honestly said, “Was he sent off to die? Please tell me the truth, Yixing.”

“Only because we grew old together, only because you were my friend, only because I know you can do nothing about it anyway, I will tell you,” Yixing said, “that Jongdae has been unknowingly sent off to die.”

“Thank you,” Sehun nodded once, not even hesitating as he quickly slipped his hands between the bars and punched Yixing across the face before withdrawing his hand and taking off, ignoring the blood that poured from the new scratches of his hand.

Jongdae…had been sent to die, to die, to _die_ ….

Sehun panicked as he ran through the halls, causing startled fairies he passed to leap into the air to avoid him crashing into them. And along the way, he crashed into another fairy who was tearing down the same tunnels in the same desperately frenzied manner Sehun was.

And once Baekhyun saw Sehun at last, he stumbled on his breathing, his words, so Sehun grabbed his shoulders tightly.

“Do you know about Jongdae? Is it true?” Sehun asked, repressing the urge to scream in frustration and horror in the moment.

Baekhyun took a deep long breath, exhaling shakily as he met Sehun’s gaze with wild, tired eyes and spoke.

“This mission will kill him,” Baekhyun said, “Get him out of here right now. I already had a stable boy prepare horses for you, and I’ll meet you both in the stables in thirty minutes. Grab Jongdae and _go_.”

“I know…I _know_ ,” Sehun hysterically said, “But Baekhyun… _Baekhyun_ , Jongdae’s already left.”

“What? _What_?” Baekhyun said, desperately staring at Sehun. Maybe if he stared long enough, Sehun would laugh and say he was lying. But he _wasn’t_ , so Baekhyun stumbled against the wall and punched the gem-studded tunnels with a fist. He did not wince even once, even when the jagged jewels tore open his skin.

“Kyungsoo lied to me then,” Baekhyun said, lowering his hand from the wall as blood dripped to the floor, “I guess he knew I would’ve stopped him at all costs in the end. When did he leave?”

“Only an hour ago,” Sehun said, trying to suppress the panic. He needed to think, to be calm, to _act_. “What can I do? What can we do now?”

“If we ride out hard enough, then maybe we’ll reach him in time,” Baekhyun nodded, “Yes…we can still save him.”

With that, Baekhyun grabbed Sehun’s hand and lead him through the tunnels towards the stables. Their blood stained each other’s skin, but Sehun didn’t mind, just attempting to keep up with Baekhyun and trusting to lead him to wherever the stables were as his mind and heart raced, thinking, beating only of Jongdae, Jongdae, _Jongdae_.

Sehun still didn’t know what was happening…but if Baekhyun said that Jongdae was going to die while executing this mission, then did details really matter? Jongdae was going to die….to die…to—

No.

Not while Sehun was still here, perfectly able to run after him and make sure that would never happen.

“I knew…something like this would happen, so the horses I’ve sent to be readied have supplies. Sorry there wasn’t any time for you to take anything else you needed,” Baekhyun said, looking back at Sehun and giving him a moment to rest before he pulled him along once again even faster than before.

“Thank you, Baekhyun,” Sehun gasped from the exertion on his body. Perhaps in another time if things were different, if there had been more time, they could’ve been best friends. Perhaps they all could have been.

“We’re close now,” Baekhyun said as he pulled over his hood over his head, “It’s just up ahead.

The cluster of lanterns swinging by the end of the tunnel gave Sehun the strength to keep on running, keep on moving. But suddenly, a voice that commanded them out of nowhere made Sehun’s heart almost stop for yet another time today.

“Stop. What do you think you’re doing?” someone thundered behind them.

They should not have stopped to look behind them, but the authority of the voice was too much that Baekhyun stopped and looked back.

“ _You_ ,” Baekhyun said, his face twisted into a cruel expression of unmistakable fury, “Tell him…Fucking _tell_ him what you’ve done to Jongdae.” He gesticulated wildly at the crowd of people that stopped them.

A few guards.

Sunyoung.

Kyungsoo.

“Yifan?” Sehun cried out, “You too?”

Yifan said nothing, but looked to the ground before turning to Kyungsoo to let him speak.

“What did you do to Jongdae?” Sehun demanded. Baekhyun had said this mission would kill him….but how? Why?

“Yixing,” Kyungsoo began calmly speaking. He was always calm, so calm…always too fucking calm. It was good for a king to be calm, to keep his composure, but how could he be so calm in such a moment while knowing he sent away his best soldier, his friend to die? To die? “One of Yixing’s conditions after we captured him…was to give up Jongdae in order for him to give up the knowledge of how to kill the ghouls he created. To his wishes, Jongdae will take the blame as the traitor and spy responsible for helping Yixing and die.”

“So you gave him up? Just like that? And you’re willing to let him die as a traitor even when he’s done so much, risked so much for you?” Sehun said, his heart beating wildly for all the wrong reasons. Jongdae was going to die…was going to die…and wrongfully seen as a traitor.

No, no, _no_ ….

“I’m sorry, Sehun,” Baekhyun said beside him, “I should have fought harder for him.”

“At least you cared, Baekhyun. Thank you for that,” Sehun said, “It’s better than what these heartless people have done.”

At that, Yifan visibly flinched, but Sehun remained impassive.

“It’s just one life, Prince Sehun,” Kyungsoo said, “One life to save how many more from the ghouls?”

“Don’t call me that,” Sehun snapped, “And it’ll always be just one life…one life…one more life. I’ve _seen_ how you operate. One life will become many. And the war will keep on raging no matter who fights in it. Everyone will still die.”

“But prince you are. And you will lead the light fairies alongside your brother King Yifan into a new era of peace with the dark fairies,” Kyungsoo said, ignoring Sehun’s other comments.

“I don’t _want_ to if the peace is forged by _this_ ,” Sehun yelled, “I don’t _want_ this life if Jongdae won’t be here.” The guards behind Kyungsoo started at Sehun’s outburst and immediately raised their arrows at them. Beside him, he could feel Baekhyun tensing and reflexively placing his hand cautiously over the hilt of his sword.

“Keep talking,” Baekhyun lowly whispered, “When it’s time, go.”

Sehun made no move to show that he heard anything, and silently thought how could they walk out of this alive and unharmed in order to save Jongdae.

“Jongdae isn’t even a dark fairy. Even he knows he does not have a place with us,” Kyungsoo said, raising his arm. The archers kept aiming, but most arrows were aimed towards Baekhyun. Yifan looked uncomfortable beside Kyungsoo, but said nothing to stop the archers. But Sunyoung looked restless, bouncing on her toes as she waited for something…something.

“You use him…manipulate him…send him out to fly when he cannot, spy when no one else would, and die when you want him to…and you have the audacity to invalidate who he is?” Sehun snarled.

“This would give him a place in our history,” Kyungsoo inclined his head.

“As a traitor,” Sehun said.

“Yes, that is regrettable, but it is how it will be, and you will not interfere. Jongdae was brave. I give him that much,” Kyungsoo said before dropping his arm.

But with a yell, Sunyoung had pulled out her sword and immediately stabbed the archers around her, causing their arrows to falter as some guards turned around to fight her. Today she wore a band of crystals in her hair as she fought. Kyungsoo looked stunned and betrayed for a moment before he masked his expression and turned back to Sehun and Baekhyun. Perhaps Sunyoung had grown tired of listening to Kyungsoo’s plans and witnessing the benefits and consequences of his strategies. Perhaps she didn’t want Jongdae to die either and was giving them a chance to escape and save them. But for whatever reason, Sehun was still grateful even though that didn’t stop the rest of the archers from doing what Kyungsoo commanded.

And immediately, rest of the archers released their arrows all at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun, who had trudged through countless marches and battles always with a crooked grin on his face.

Baekhyun, who had watched as countless friends and family left him…sometimes with nothing to place on funeral pyres.

Baekhyun, who was sick of the war, was sick of the battles, but was never sick of fighting.

So naturally, it would take more than a few measly arrows to stop such a bright, unstoppable force of nature.

Baekhyun swiftly brought his sword out to quickly deflect the arrows that had been shot at him and smiled once again as he lowered his sword momentarily, the scattered, deflected arrows laid around him.

“Go,” he yelled at Sehun as some guards began rushing at them with swords after they realized their arrows would be pointless against them.

“Come with me,” Sehun pleaded, tugging on his sleeves, “Let’s save Jongdae together.”

“It’s okay. Someone has to give you time to escape, right?” Baekhyun tore his gaze away from the oncoming guards in order to look back at Sehun.

Minseok was dead.

Jongdae was sent off to die.

But Baekhyun was still here. Still alive, still fit, still able to do the one thing he was the best at.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be his last.

“Until the next,” He grinned before spreading his magnificent black wings and flying straight at the people he called his friends, his family, his enemies.

“Until the next,” Sehun managed to call out, his voice somehow hoarse with unspeakable awe and gratitude before he ran down the tunnel and found Baekhyun’s horse.

Ripping the reins from the confused stable fairy, Sehun swung onto the horse and rode out of the cave, welcoming the sun that shone upon him. And Sehun rode onwards…rode with Jongdae’s hand drawn map in one hand and the reins in his other. Did Jongdae know that the place he had studied so carefully wasn’t the place the ghoul king would be, but the place where he was to die?

Wincing, Sehun looked away from the horizon in order to glance at his stomach.

In the haze of the scuffle, it had seemed that one of the arrows meant for Baekhyun had impaled Sehun instead. But Sehun had more important things to worry about, and even though it probably wasn’t wise to do so, he ripped the arrow out of the side of his abdomen and rode on.

Honestly, he was so fucking tired of all this talk of sacrificing one person for a thousand. Before, Sehun would have wanted to save everyone so a thousand and one people could survive. But that was before he realized how coldly pragmatic kings were, how heartless Kyungsoo was, how changed Yifan was. That was before he realized how impossible it was to save even all of those thousand even if that one person were sacrificed. And that was before Jongdae.

So for only Jongdae, Sehun rode out, cried out, bled out as he continued onwards for about an hour until he was stopped. Stopped by a guard that pointed a drawn bow and arrow at him while a familiar figure that was not so familiar anymore intercepted him. Did they take a shortcut? How could he have been found and stopped so quickly?

“Come back, Sehun. Come with me,” Yifan pleaded as he slid off his horse to walk towards Sehun with his arms held out in a sign of peace. He seemed less like a king and more like himself in this moment. He seemed like the brother Sehun remembered. But then Yifan continued speaking, so that fleeting illusion disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “Let things happen the way they should.” How inconvenient. His own brother stopping him from saving Jongdae. Did Yifan know that Jongdae helped Sehun look for him when their castle was destroyed? Did Yifan know that Jongdae had wished Yifan would be found alive, too? Did Jongdae know Yifan had agreed to his death, too? Sehun didn’t know Yifan anymore.

“You ask me that with an arrow pointed at my face?” Sehun said, his gaze flickering to the guard before sliding off his horse. He resisted the urge to wince or press a hand to his wound, not wanting to give Yifan any more reason to want to haul him back to where he no longer wanted to be.

“Please,” Yifan tried again as he reached out to touch Sehun’s arm, “Come back home.”

“We don’t _have_ a home anymore,” Sehun shook his head violently, “And I won’t let them kill Jongdae just because some twisted fairy that _murdered_ our father and our people ordered it. Why did you listen to him? Why did you let him manipulate you into this? I thought you were better than this. I thought you’d be a good king.”

“It’s our only chance at surviving the ghouls,” Yifan said, “You would understand if you were a king.”

“You kings are all the same. You and your one life sacrifices. Why don’t you just sacrifice your own life then? Trade yourself for Jongdae. If it’s just one life, then give up yours,” Sehun chuckled humorlessly.

“Sehun,” Yifan said, looking hurt, “You don’t understand…I have to bring you back or Kyungsoo’s guard will shoot you right here. You must let what will happen to Jongdae happen.”

“Oh? You’re going to kill me, too? Then that’s two lives. Three maybe,” Sehun said as he grabbed Yifan and unsheathed Jongdae’s ruby-hilted dagger to place at Yifan’s throat. “You’re all wasting my time. Let me go so I can save Jongdae.”

The archer shouted in surprise, but his grasp on the arrow wavered. He could not shoot Sehun without potentially harming Yifan.

“It’s okay, don’t shoot him! He’ll come back! He’ll help us fight!” Yifan said, raising out an arm to stop the archer.

“I want no part in this war anymore. I’m done,” Sehun shook his head.

“You have a duty to your people. Come back, Sehun…You’re a prince. You’re my _brother_. You have to,” Yifan desperately pleaded.

Sehun weighed his options before releasing Yifan. But before the archer could shoot, Yifan had moved back into his line of fire again, desperately looking at Sehun and hoping he would make the right choice.

“Then prince no more I shall be,” Sehun said, lowering his dagger, but still gripping it so tightly. “You need me dead to let me go, right? Then I’ll die.”

“Sehun, _please_ ,” Yifan wildly said, spreading out his arms to cover more of Sehun from the archer’s sight.

“I, Prince Sehun, heir to the throne after King Yifan of the light fairies, renounce my claim to the throne. I relinquish my title, my status, my inheritance. I renounce my place with the light fairies,” Sehun began to say, and slowly, he felt an odd sense of power coursing through his veins, and as he spoke calmly, clearly, his bright, glowing wings began to fade…fade into a shadowy color that grew darker with every word he spoke. “Never will I stand with the light fairies ever again if their own king insists on allowing an innocent fairy… a fairy that has braved so many hardships and everything to save his people…to be condemned to die for something he did not do. All because the true murderer said so. Never will I live letting this happen, so never will I return.”

As he finally finished speaking, his wings turned completely black.

And somewhere, far away, the sound of an apple falling from a burnt branch of a tree with golden and diamond fruit echoed loudly.

“You exiled yourself,” Yifan said, lowering his hands as he looked at Sehun’s blackened wings mournfully.

“Prince Sehun is dead. Now let me go,” Sehun said.

Yifan turned to the archer who slowly lowered his bow.

Now there was only this left.

Good-bye.

But they didn’t say their good-byes like a light fairy would, or even a dark fairy would. There was just this.

“I’m sorry,” Yifan said, reaching his arms out for a hug…a touch….a _something_. But Sehun had already turned away, his dark wings facing Yifan as he walked off.

“I’m sorry, too,” Sehun said, and without a further look back, he slid onto his horse started riding again.

But honestly, the pain…the pain in his stomach was blinding, and as he rode, he desperately hoped when he reached Jongdae it would not be too late for the both of them.

He was not afraid yet.

 

 

ϟ

 

It seemed that Kyungsoo had meticulously planned everything carefully. So carefully. Did he feel anything when he planned how Jongdae would die? Where Jongdae would die?

Sehun didn’t think Kyungsoo felt, but when he began riding away from the mountains, away from the forest and into a desert between the border of the northern and southern territories, he realized this plan was really designed to make Jongdae have no hope of surviving. There was no shade for Jongdae to hide in when his glitter wore off, there was nowhere to run to if Jongdae managed to escape, and there was nothing to keep him company except the sun.

Sehun continued riding into this dry territory of barren nothingness and only stopped when he saw something in the distance that made tears immediately leap to his eyes and his heart fall straight of his chest. He was almost afraid…afraid that it was too late, but that did not stop him from sliding off his horse as he ran even though the pain from his wound was almost blinding, his heart pounding wildly.

Breathlessly, he approached Jongdae…

Jongdae with his shirt stripped from him.

Jongdae with his wings cut off of him.

Jongdae with his remaining bleeding body left to die under the sun.

Surely he must have died by now…Could he have really endured and survived that much?

“Jongdae,” Sehun called, fighting to control the waver in his voice. He did not once waver when he fought Kyungsoo and Yifan, but now his voice trembled.

Jongdae looked dead as he motionlessly lay in a pool of his own blood, but at the sound of Sehun’s voice, Jongdae opened his eyes slightly and relaxed.

“Why did you come back?” he hoarsely chuckled, “Because you love me?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Sehun frustratedly screamed as he reached Jongdae, “Because I _do_. I do, I do, I _do_.”

Jongdae was stunned into silence.

And as he weakly let Sehun gently sit him up, Jongdae gazed at him for a moment before fervently whispering the same, the same, the _same_. Sehun breathed, trying to stay calm, but failed as he began hysterically explaining what had happened, who had let Jongdae die, what they did to him, what they wanted to remember him as while he shed his robes to press onto the bleeding wounds on Jongdae’s back where his black wings once appeared.

“So that’s why Kyungsoo promised I’d be remembered. Being a traitor was something he didn’t mention though,” Jongdae said, looking at Sehun. He was lucky enough that his humanity had enabled him to survive his wings cut off, and while the sun was right here bursting and waiting to pounce and emerge from the clouds any moment, Jongdae could only look at Sehun.

And between shaky breaths, Jongdae whispered to Sehun that he had realized too late that the fairies who had accompanied him were not there to distract other ghouls while Jongdae killed the king ghoul. There were no ghouls here after all. Just these fairies who turned on Jongdae, ripped off his chainmail, his hood, his shirt before they pinned him down and cut off his wings…his beautiful wings. And when Jongdae did not immediately die, they left him…left him exposed to the sun with nothing to hide him, to save him.

“I’ll kill them all…But Jongdae, you won’t stop bleeding, you won’t stop _bleeding_ ,” Sehun frantically said, placing an arm over Jongdae’s chest so he could brace himself and push the gaping wounds on Jongdae’s wingless back to slow the bleeding.

“You’re hurt, too,” Jongdae said, his eyes flicking to the blood on Sehun’s stomach. Weakly, he tried to reach for Sehun’s wound, but Sehun shook his head.

“It’s nothing. I’m _fine_ ,” Sehun promised, his hands shaking as he fought to stop the blood. Jongdae would be fine, he would be fine. “Let’s go…Let’s take the horse and get you away from the sun.”

“I think it might be a little too late for that,” Jongdae said, looking up as the clouds began to dangerously drift away.

“Then…then take my wings,” Sehun begged as he pulled out Jongdae’s silver dagger to press into his hands, “Cut off my wings and _survive_.”

“It’s okay….It’s okay,” Jongdae reassuringly said pressing the dagger back into Sehun’s hands, “Keep it, Sehun. Keep them, Sehun. Keep me, Sehun.”

“Do it, _please_ …I’d rather live without my wings than let you—” Sehun began to say, dropping the dagger beside them before Jongdae interrupted him.

“Save yourself,” Jongdae said, raising a weak hand to place over Sehun’s cheek, “Go back, Sehun…they’ll take you back and heal you. They don’t want you dead.”

“Can’t,” Sehun said, wishing he could take his hands off of Jongdae’s wound so he could hold Jongdae tightly and fully close to him right now, “Won’t. I’ve given up my place with them anyways.”

“So these are the wings of an exiled dark fairy,” Jongdae said, peeking behind Sehun’s shoulders to look at his dark wings curiously, “I think they’re beautiful. We would’ve matched if they let me keep mine.”

“You see?” Sehun said, “It’s just you and me now…We can’t go back, so just…let’s get out of the sun.”

“I think it is too late for that now, Sehun,” Jongdae softly said, the shimmering glimpses of the sun emerging from the clouds.

He still couldn’t feel it, but it was only a matter of time by now.

“It’s never too late. Go with me, Jongdae,” Sehun said, fighting to suppress the tears he felt cloud his vision.

“You really won’t go back? You really won’t go? You should live. Please live,” Jongdae said.

“I don’t want to. This is where I stay,” Sehun said, “My place is with you.”

“Okay,” Jongdae said, nodding slowly, slowly, slowly, “Then stay with me.”

“Where else could I go?” Sehun said, feeling those tears threaten to stream down from his face any second as he realized. He finally realized.

Jongdae reached out to pull Sehun’s hands away from his wound and turned so he fully faced Sehun. Without another word, he weakly slid himself onto Sehun’s lap and kissed him like he had kissed him that first time so long ago…like there was no time left on earth…like he could lose him any moment...like this would be the first and last. And when they broke apart to breathe, Jongdae was no longer afraid.

So with that, Jongdae placed his arms around Sehun’s back and felt as Sehun hugged his body closely, so tightly that Sehun was sure if he held him this tightly nothing would take Jongdae away from him.

And as the sun began to peak out of the clouds at last, exposing the full power of its brilliance, Jongdae continued to hold Sehun tight with trembling arms.

Sehun understood.

And they continued to sit there, tangled around each other’s arms, their blood staining each other’s hands, their tears staining each other’s skin, their love staining each other’s hearts.

“Until the next, my love,” Jongdae sighed, “I’ll see you again.”

Sehun did not respond or echo those sentiments because to do so would mean that he would admit Jongdae would leave him. So what he did instead was just hold Jongdae close and whisper to him that he remembered him, he remembered him, he _remembered_ him.

And as the sun finally broke free of the clouds, revealing its whole magnificent self in all its glory, Jongdae smiled as he fully looked towards the sun at last.

There the sun was. Not timidly dancing between the reflections of mirrors, not contained in small bursts as it streamed through the windows, not hiding behind dark clouds.

The sun blinded his eyes, and yet, he could not look away even now.

And finally… _finally_ …Jongdae knew what the sun felt like.

It was hot.

 

 

 

 

 

ϟ

 

 

 

 

 

“Both,” someone said, “Both survive.”

“Both _have_ to survive,” someone else said, “The light fairy asks the dark fairy to cut off his wings so he can use its magical properties to save him, his lover.”

“The dark fairy survives,” someone else shoved him aside to answer, “The light fairy shields him with his own body so he survives the sun, but at the cost of the light fairy’s life.”

“No, the light fairy survives!” someone else said before the bar erupted with guesses and shouts of different answers, all while the hooded stranger took another sip of his drink and fell silent after he finally finished his story.

Jongin didn’t know how they could all be calmly shouting and fighting over this, as he needed to take a moment to stare at the light in order to force back the tears he felt emerging. He didn’t know if this story never even happened, was slightly altered from a different story, or was actually true. But whatever it was, it was so heartbreakingly beautiful…a beautiful story that lured in Jongin with dazzling hope before tearing him apart with its dark implications.

“And you, bartender,” the stranger asked while effortlessly silencing the whole crowd with a slight gesture of his hand, “What is your guess?”

“None,” Jongin hoarsely said even though he wanted the opposite to be true, “The heat of the sun finally kills the dark fairy, and in his despair, the light fairy lets himself bleed out and die of his wounds while holding the body of his beloved.”

“An interesting guess,” the stranger mused.

“Did any of us guess right? Who lives? Who dies—”

“Who survives?”

“You’re all wrong,” the stranger said.

There was about a moment of silence before the bar erupted in protests now.

“You’ve cheated us out of our time!”

“Why did we listen to your story if you’ve given us an impossible situation?”

“ _He_ should pay for our drinks then!”

The stranger listened to their protests for a few moments before speaking.

“Did you listen to anything I’ve said this whole night at all? The answer is within the story,” the stranger said.

“Who survives?” Jongin gently asked.

The stranger paused, finally finished the rest of his drink, and reached into his pocket before abruptly stabbing into the aged wood of the bar an engraved silver dagger with a ruby hilt. And with a haunted, hallow voice, he finally answered.

_The human—_


End file.
